Comment on Ryan Air & Belarus by Mark Birkett

DEAR ALL,

Frightening as it might have been, I think the Captain and First Officer should have refused point-blank to co-operate with the Belarus Airport police when they started offloading this innocent passenger. By the time they landed, the Ryanair crew knew that this bomb threat was a hoax. They also knew by then that Mr Protasevich was the intended target of this criminal hijacking. Therefore the flight crew had an absolute moral and legal duty of care here. At the absolute least, they should not have taken off again without him safely back onboard. Had the Ryanair crew refused to co-operate, this would have forced Lukashenko to back down. Not even he would have had the temerity to jail an entire international airline crew.

There is precedent for such a brave but necessary flight crew response. Back in 1986, there was an attempted hijack of a Pan Am 747 on the ground in Karachi. And it failed because the flight crew all realised what was happening and bailed out of the aircraft's emergency hatch in order to stop the hijack from going airborne. Ryanair's crew should have done the same. The Captain has an absolute responsibility to look after the safety of all his / her passengers - and from start to finish of the planned journey.

If this Lukashenko bastard can get away with this outrage, NO-ONE is safe. The Saudi regime have done similar when they killed the Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi. The Rwandan government did the same when they abducted Paul Rusesabagina (of 'Hotel Rwanda' fame) and flew him to Kigali. And Putin got away with poisoning several people on British soil.

It's not often I'd venerate Margaret Thatcher. But I tell you this, she would not have put up with this sort of behaviour from a criminal gang without a significant military response. We have to learn to stop these bullies in language they understand. Closing their western bank accounts for half an hour - which is all our useless governments ever seem to threaten these days - is absolutely worthless.

Mark Birkett

**************************************************

Mark Birkett: 'Community of Scholars & Satanic Verses'

Editorial comment: Mark Birkett has responded with the comment below and has tried to spell out the problems with regard to the Batley Grammar School dispute over the teacher who displayed the cartoon of the Muslim Prophet in his class on religous studies. Some of the Muslim parents took exception to this and are calling for the teacher's dismissal by gathering outside the school to protest.

*******************

Mark Birkett's view on the question of 'Blasphemy' & Islam:

'Yes, that's right. I'm curious as to the genuine motives of those parents who have called for the sacking of the teacher. I think that was clear in my comment below. But if not I'm happy to clarify it.

'I've been an anti-racist all my life. But the problem we seem to have, with this sort of reaction by some Muslim parents living in Britain, or indeed the murderous persecution of so-called 'blasphemers' in places like Pakistan or Saudi Arabia - is that challenging the Islamic faith gets conflated with racism. The two are not even remotely one and the same thing. Providing the intellectual space and the intellectual tools for all children to discuss these issues meaningfully is a major challenge for our society. We cannot keep pretending otherwise.

'The reasons for it being a challenge are many. For instance, we all know very well that there are many on the far right who delight in provoking Asians simply because it suits their racist beliefs. And many in such racist groups cynically use wider revulsion at some of the worst aspects of Islam (including its appalling attitude to women, homosexuals and apostates) to further that sort of racist agenda.

'Unfortunately, there are just as many within the Muslim community who completely fail to see how bigoted their religion is. Islam is by no means the only bigoted religion of course (if in doubt, read the Old Testament and / or the more blood-curdling threats in 'Revelations') but it is (in my view) the most murderous of all three Abrahamic faiths. It's certainly the only one that calls for murder in the case of apostasy (thou shalt believe in Allah .. or else).

'The other oft-confused element in this quagmire is the false notion that there is such a thing as a 'Muslim' child. No child is 'born' a Muslim, nor Christian, nor Satanist. nor voodoo-ist ... nor any other religion or cult for that matter. They are just children, each of whom needs to be taught how to think, not what. Every child subjected to any religion presented to them as factually true is by definition being brainwashed. And teachers in our schools have an absolute duty to call a dead halt to that. They need to encourage children to question all such evidence-free thinking. To discenr the welcome aspects of religion (Thou Shalt Not Kill etc) from the wholly unwelcome (women are second to men etc). They need to be taught how to question and value satire too. And they need to be able to do so without fear that some idiot will decide that they need to be sacked for doing so (or far worse).

'Imagine if a teacher was suspended for discussing the impact Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' in a classroom? We'd see it as utterly absurd. Yet far too many seem to think Islam should have a free card here. It absolutely shouldn't. Satire is a vital part of a free democracy. It doesn't mean I think showing the (so-called) 'Prophet' with a bomb under his turban is in good taste. Nor am I blind to the fear that such cartoons might even encourage some children to grow up seeing all Muslims as terrorists. But that's the point. Discussion of these ideas, and the reactions that flow from them, is an essential part of every child's education. Far too many Muslim parents refuse to see that point.

'Muslims who think it's OK to threaten teachers who try to encourage pupils to think clearly about religions - including (I'd hope) getting to children to discuss the bigotry inherent in all of them - cannot claim sanctuary behind terms such as 'Islamophobia' - a term without the slightest moral or intellectual currency. All who live in this country - a nominally 'free democracy' - need to accept that satire (esp. in the form of cartoons) does not automatically equate to racism. Nor do they have the right to claim that 'blasphemy' has any place in a modern democracy either.

'It's very difficult to get these things right of course, and I'd never want to give the slightest succour or comfort to racists, but teachers being suspended for openly discussing the satirising of religion need to be protected and defended at all costs. If parents wish to silence such teachings, let alone perhaps pretend that the Charlie Hebdo murders were even remotely justified, then they truly don't belong in our free democracy. Those of us who can see the difference between these two approaches to discussing the role of religions need to be ultra-clear whose side we're on.'

DEADLINE on complicity in Council Corruption

Rochdale Chief Exec. on Two Jobs & Milking Owd Folk!

Praise be to GOD for Corruption!

For men are Human

And Judges are Bribable

And With Corruption!

Even the Innocent may get off.

by BERTOLT BRECHT in the Three-penny Opera.

*******************************************

LETTER FROM MARK BIRKETT:

To: Brian Bamford

Date: 1st March 2021

Re: Rochdale Council Vote / Huge Hike to Care Home Fees Whilst Ignoring Whopping £50k Pay Rise for Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow

Dear Brian,

You heard it here first; two days from now, on March 3rd 2021, all 60 x Rochdale councillors will be 'considering' hiking care home fees to Rochdale's elderly by 5% in order to 'save' £80,000 / year on the council budget.

Unfortunately, what they won't be considering is reviewing the second full-time job the Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow has at the NHS. This NHS job pays Continue Mr Rumbelow no less than £50,000 / year on top of the £140,000 / year he was already earning as Chief Executive, taking his salary just a fraction under £200,000 / year ... half as much again as the Prime Minister.

The money is eye-wateringly insulting enough, but the key issue here is that no-one can do two full-time jobs simultaneously. And there isn't a workplace on earth that would pay someone two full-time salaries for two part-time jobs. Yet on July 18th 2018, that's exactly what Rochdale's councillors voted to happen.

That's why - on 19th January - I wrote to each of them to suggest that they put forward / support a motion to review this indefensible situation. But not one of them has agreed to do so. Most haven't even acknowledged my letter. Our councillors don't seem to mind enabling Mr Rumbelow to trouser an extra £50,000 / year for this NHS role but it's the elderly in Rochdale that are now likely to end up paying for it. The moral horror of this 'proposal' should be obvious to everyone.

Neither the NHS and RMBC are benefiting here. And certainly not the average Rochdale taxpayer, many of whom have lost jobs and businesses (not to mention loved ones) over the last year. The only beneficiary is Mr Rumbelow. That's why there should be an immediate judicial review of this untenable and intolerable situation, with Mr Rumbelow's pay packet reduced by whatever proportion of his working day now being handed over to the NHS.

Sadly, Mr Rumbelow has turned the entire machinery of Rochdale Council into ignoring my complaints, including allowing the Borough Solicitor Asif Ibrahim to advise all RMBC councillors "not to respond" to my communications about this which, in addition to being a disgraceful interference with everyone's right to democratic representation, breaks their own RMBC Member Code of Conduct on multiple points (inc. their legal obligations re: 'scrutiny', 'accountability', 'transparency'). And he refuses to answer any further letters from me about this.

The perenially useless Rochdale Online won't cover this pay abuse. Neither will the truly pointless Rochdale Observer. Both 'media outlets' are thus a total disgrace to the town. Exactly the same can be said about Tony Lloyd MP. Another politician who refuses to respond to constituent concerns. He knows about all this and has done nothing to stop it.

The local elections are in May. So, don't forget what happened here folks. Don't waste your vote. Rochdale Council and the entire 'body politic' here is rotten to the core with cronyism, nepotism and sheer incompetence. It needs to be stopped. We urgently need caring, principled, decent and intelligent people running the Council and our town ... right now, we have nothing of the sort.

If you are horrified by this proposed care-home fee hike, or horrified by the greed of RMBC Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow who is taking home so much of your hard-earned money for an impossible-to-do second job (and who has the gall to refuse answering ANY questions about it), or horrified by the sheer incompetence of Rochdale's councillors who voted for all this to happen ...

then ... PLEASE SHARE THIS POST WHEREVER AND HOWEVER YOU CAN

Best wishes,

Mark Birkett

Taxpayer, Kingsway Ward

Rochdale

Mark Birkett's views on Rochdale's public spending

The Guilty Men: Allen Brett (Council Leader) & Steve Rumbelow (Chief Executive)

IN AN E-MAIL, which we felt was too long to publish in full, complaining to John Rooney, Assistant Director, Information, Customers & Communities, at Rochdale Council - sent on the 10th February 2021- Mark Birkett wrote in conclusion:

'Perhaps worst of all, these two men (Brett & Rumbelow) have also allowed and aided in a monstrous abuse of the public purse. There is no way on earth Mr Rumbelow can do two full-time jobs in once day. But this isn't about some radical ideology; nor is it about whether (Rochdale) MBC needs to remain competitive when it comes to retaining so-called 'executive talent'; still less is it about Mr Rumbelow being 'worth it' or not;'

'It's just simple arithmetic.'

'No-one can do two jobs at once. So if Mr Rumbelow spends (say) 25% of his day now at the NHS tasks, then his RMBC pay must be reduced by that 25%. Thats's why the councillors on July 18th 2018 who voted for this change to Mr Rumbelow's Terms and Conditions had absolutely zero right to do so. There is no workplace on earth where you get to keep two full-time pay packets for doing only two part-time jobs.

'But that's exactly what those all those councillors in 2018 were bamboozled into doing. They failed in one of their most basic tasks; to carefully steward taxpayers' hard-earned monies. Not one of them examined the small print of any reports, or considered any risks to Mr Rumbelow's RMBC role, nor the ramifications for his daily schedule. If you don't believe me, ask any of the councillors who were there. You'll get nothing beyond a shrug and a blank face, from any of them (other than Cllrs Allen Brett, Sara Rowbotham and Daalat Ali who cooked up the whole fiasco at Cabinet in 2017 of course).

Mr Rumbelow should note; you most certainly don't get to pocket that sort of exorbitant dual income and simultaneously have the gall to propose cuts to other Borough services, or cut jobs, or to hike up care home costs for Rochdale's elderly. That is all why my official complaint is now set to continue via the Local Government Ombudsman. And, even more importantly, this pay abuse at the expense of Rochdale's taxpayers will not stand unchallenged either.

Every RMBC councillor should take warning;

'If any of them vote to allow Mr Rumbelow to continue in this ridiculous NHS role (when the contract is apparently due for renewal on 31st March), and / or if they do not deal with this pay abuse at the March Budget Setting Meeting, and / or they have the nerve to dump the cost of 'savings' on pensioners in care homes, or on any other people in the Borough, then the local elections this May are going to be a very bumpy ride indeed - for every last one of them.

'Mr Rumbelow's pay abuse will remain in the spotlight. As will this appalling abuse of my democratic rights and (by implication) everyone else's. As will any councillors who think all of this is vaguely amusing. It isn't.

In case any of them hadn't noticed, the post-COVID world is going to be very different from the one they've been used to.

Sincerely

Mark Birkett

Further to those Mark Birkett and Les May articles by Andrew Wastling

'TWO-JOBS RUMBELOW' - A GIANT AMONG PYGMIES

or is he MILKING the MASSES in the Land of Gracie Fields?

SOMETIME in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a care free life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he is horrified to find an underground world of workers who apparently run the machinery that keeps the Utopian world above ground functioning. In Metropolis the citizens are sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

In one of the film's most memorable scenes ( one of many ) Freder Fredersen sees an exhausted worker in overalls desperately struggling with the mechanical hands of the clock measuring the passage of long and arduous shifts. In a scene redolent of recurring memes in literature such as , The Prince & The Pauper, or A Tale Of Two Cities, when Sydney Carton’s sacrifice of his own life on behalf of his friends Charles Darnay on the guillotine of Revolutionary France, Fredersen asks to swap places with the worker to give him some respite from his torturous labours and the brutalisation of long repetitive shifts seemingly without end.

Freder arduously working a ten-hour shift on the clock machine. Freder is like a Christ figure, crucified on the clock. From Fritz Lang's sci-fi silent classic.Metropolis (1927).

****************************************************

Free the Riverside One!' Further to Mark Birkett & Les Mays articles by Andrew Wastling

LIKE all readers of Northern Voices I have also been following the issue of Steve 'Two-Jobs' Rumbelow with growing disbelief and anger. Some might argue that in a town where a councillor is allowed two votes it was surely only a matter of time before a subtly illogical extension of this Orwellian Double-Think culture would eventually mean we were always destined to arrive at a situation where the Councils Chief Executive Officer would have two full-time jobs, draw two full-time salaries and presumably have twice the number of holidays of your typical worker whilst achieving only half the expected outcomes.

Steve 'Two-Jobs' Rumbelow can sometimes be seen in the background of our local NHS CCG Zoom meetings resplendent in his natural habitat of silent participant in yet another interminable online meeting where anything of value is not discussed until the cameras and microphones are switched off and the Public Excluded from what very little remains of the democratic process. The online meeting remains nonetheless by far the best environment in which to see him exhibiting the superhuman powers which enable Steve to hold down two full time jobs at one and the same time . His masterful grasp of both of his employment remits and Zoom meeting technology can be clearly observed to maximum effect each time he remembers to unmute his laptop to share his valuable pearls of wisdom with the assembled participants. You only have to observe him in action to see that he is worth so clearly worth every penny of both his salaries.

I pride myself as something of an advanced multi-tasker myself I can generally deal with obstructive Council sycophants via email , make a mental note of the kick-off times of the away day match, remember to test the fire alarms, keep all my case notes in (more or less) order all whilst mopping the office floor and singing a happy song as I go along but even I'm forced to admit defeat and acknowledge that Steve's innate prowess leaves me merley lumbering along on the hard shoulder of life. In fact we are all left running on the spot in the starting blocks as Steve effortly transcends life's many insurmountable hurdles.

When work ethics and motivation was being handed out to the rest of us humble members of the British proletariat Steve was clearly out there at the front of the queue - a pole position he has endeavoured with very fibre & sinew to maintain ever since. He is after all clearly an elite member of Britain's famed meritocracy. Whilst many local workers struggle to meet ends meet and are forced onto the charity of foodbanks & mutual aid food networks despite juggling several part time or zero-contract jobs Steve's Patrician countenance it seems bareley needs to break into a sweat.

Like so many of us, I naturally assumed at first the whole thing was a scam reflecting the very worst elements of the local nepotism & cronyism we have all come to expect. How wrong I was!

I have been informed on good authority that Mr.Rumbelow has been gifted the necessary personal qualities and transferable professional skills which us lesser mortals can only dream of. He is one of the select few. Why else would he be in Rochdale after all?

His inscrutable Zen -like online demeanor was simply Steve approaching the nirvana of Bureaucratic Enlightenment as he silently mentally calculates his rate of pay per hour whilst doing two appointed tasks simultaneously whilst deducting precisely any personal expenses which might impact on his personal yearly tax rate minus anything he can possibly avoid under Gift Aid legislation - that or he'd fallen asleep through sheer exhaustion!

One can only marvel at the mathematical genius needed to calculate the mileage allowance whilst performing two different job descriptions for two seperate job roles whilst driving to two different meeting destinations in the same car . . . or is it two-cars?

The man is nothing short of inspirational! He presumably prepares for two Monthly Target Reviews with his employer(s) and completes two sets of yearly Continuing Professional Development training courses and contends with double the hangover from two Office Christmas parties. One wonders how he finds any time left to run the Council?

That is the spanner in the works for poor old Rumbelow.

I have only recently been reliably informed of the Gulag conditions Steve endures whilst incarcerated in No1 Riverside, his tortuous hours ,the selfless separation he is forced to endure from his family and loved ones whilst he slogs through his brutal work life balance in his ascetic near monastic isolation. One can only marvel at his strength of character, his enduring stamina and dedicated selfless commitment to Public Service he exhibits in his daily working regime?

I can only suggest Steve joins a union as a matter of urgency to avoid the need to work such excessive hours to feed and clothe his family and we as socially concerned citizens and trade unionists launch a 'Free the Riverside One!' campaign to see this cruel exploitation of a fellow worker is not allowed to continue an hour longer than absolutely necessary.

After all comrades we would all I'm sure do the same for any other victim of indentured or sweatshop labour brutalized into slaving away for eighty plus hours a week anywhere else on the planet? Quite how Steve will be able to join us on two separate picket lines at the same time should he go on strike and withdraw his labour simultaneously from two separate employees to improve his working conditions in two seperate locations remains anybody's guess?

Workers of the world Unite !

************************************************************

From Mark Birkett further to Les May's article:

WHILST it's important that everyone in Rochdale hold their respective ward councillors to account for their WHOLESALE lack of oversight regarding Rochdale MBC Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow's pay abuse, it's important NOT to end up in cul-de-sac arguments about whether he Mr Rumbelow 'worth it' or not. Though public-sector pay at the higher echelons of Rochdale Council and elsewhere in the UK is pretty clearly out of control, that is a SEPARATE and ultimately distracting argument.

The TRULY SALIENT points regarding Mr Rumbelow's paypacket in Rochdale are:

1) NO-ONE can do two full-time jobs at once, not even Mr Rumbelow. Yet that is PRECISELY what Mr Rumbelow is being paid for. TWO full-time jobs.

2) Yet on July 18th 2018, the entire Labour and Tory councillor groups VOTED IN FAVOUR of Mr Rumbelow doing these two FULL-time jobs without giving the slightest consideration to the real ramifications of the sheer impossibility of such. Rumbelow is paid £140,000 per year as a FULL-TIME CEO, and a further £45-50,000 / year as a FULL-TIME 'Accountable Officer' in the NHS.

3) That Mr Rumbelow refuses to answer what PROPORTION of his working day is now spent working for the NHS (and thus demonstrably NOT spent on his full-time role as RMBC Chief Executive). That is a TRAVESTY of democratic accountability

.

4) Most damaging of all for Rochdale Council's tattered reputation, is that we now know that Rochdale MBC's 60 x councillors have been TOLD by the Borough Solicitor "not to respond" to constituent queries about the matter. Instead of the Borough's most senior legal advisor keeping his advice within a LEGAL remit, he has interfered with DUE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. No explanation has been provided for him singling out THIS issue for councillors 'not to respond' to, nor even what time limit might apply to this absurd advice to them all, despite him being asked (twice).

This advice to Rochdale MBC councillors is one the key reasons no-one can get any straight answers from ANY councillor regarding their failure to scrutinise this executive pay package and associated dual duties properly, and is perhaps also why Mr Rumbelow feels ZERO obligation to tell taxpayers what he does all day long. Let's be clear: neither the NHS nor Rochdale MBC are benefiting from the so-called 'efficiencies' due to the integration of health care commissioning and social care. The ONLY person benefiting here is Mr Rumbelow.

To add insult to injury, Mr Rumbelow just received a WHOPPING 25% pay rise to the NHS element of his vast income, yet as we speak Rochdale Council is seriously proposing that care home fees to the vulnerable elderly in the Borugh be hiked by 5% next year ... all in order to 'save' the Council £80,000 per year -ironically almost exactly the same sum Mr Rumbelow has trousered since July 2018 for this impossible second role at the NHS.

It MUST be stopped.

The Budget Council meetings on 3rd and 10th March 2021 are where this appalling abuse of the public purse COULD be called into question and reviewed from scratch. But that will only happen IF councillors are all pressured to do so.

By you. Today.

And they WILL listen to you. After all, the local elections are coming soon enough (vaccines permitting). So it is VITAL for Rochdalians to threaten not to vote for ANY councillor who refuses to stop this pay abuse, or who refuses to call a motion to review Mr Rumbelow's ridiculous dual role, or who continues to take part in refusing to provide answers to legtimate queries form constituents on this matter.

Remember:

This is YOUR money at stake here. Thousands in Rochdale have lost their jobs, their businesses and their incomes due to COVID. And old people do NOT want to be forced to pay even more for their care in care homes to save the council money whilst the Chief Executive waltzes off with an eye watering pay packet AND a 25% pay rise in one year to boot .

And this is YOUR democracy at stake here too. Councillors must be FORCED to answer legitimate constituent queries, or be removed from office.

It's up to ALL of us to deal with this.

Mark Birkett, Resident, Kingsway, Rochdale

Mark Birkett: More on Bullying

 by Mark Birkett

THANKS for sending me this. I agree with every point in it except for your rather odd question at the end. 
"Bandwagon"?

 
 That comment seems to imply that Mr Lloyd's imposition as Rochdale's 'choice' by entirely-unaccountable people in London, his subsequent and deliberate failure to answer dozens and dozens of legitimate constituent queries, and my suspension from the Labour party for complaining about the same are not the absolute affronts to democracy I've very accurately highlighted them as.

There is no 'bandwagon' here Brian. The issues are real. For me and for people like Debbie Abrahams. 


It is crystal clear that the Labour Party HQ and NEC are torn between at least two factions within the party - variously described as Trades Unions vs Momentum / Old Guard vs New / Left vs Right . Each side is trying to outdo the other, and elements within each group are engaging in (yes) bullying people. It sometimes takes the form of suspending innocent members like me, who are guilty of nothing more than highlighting the party's wholly anti-democratic MP-selection systems, its non-existent complaints procedure for disputes with MPs and indeed the sheer lack of leadership shown by Jeremy Corbyn in these matters.

And it sometimes takes the form of trumped up charges of bullying against innocent MPs - turning the real bullying argument completely on its head. Poachers turning gamekeepers in effect. I have had similar dissembling nonsense thrown at me. I was made out to have been 'threatening' to Mr Lloyd by the man himself when nothing could possibly have been further from the truth. I have never threatened anyone. And similarly, when the party HQ Investigations Officer Megan McCann wanted to withdraw from having to interview me face-to-face (and risk awkward questions being asked of her and recorded as such) she tried to make out I had been 'threatening' to her too. It's all a smokescreen. The real bullies are those who are making these spurious bullying claims in HQ and on the NEC.

Complicated to follow perhaps, but if you're going to report this story, please try to do so with considerably more detail so you actually get it right? Otherwise, you are actually just muddying the waters and leaving your readership none the wiser.

Mark

******

Mark Birkett on Debbie Abrams & himself

MARK Birkett is a disgruntled member of the Rochdale Labour Party, who when the disgraced Rochdale M.P. Simon Danczuk was being shown the door put himself forward as a candidate for the job.  At that time Labour old timer and one-time Manchester police commissioner, Tony Lloyd, had just lost his fight to become Mayor of Manchester to Andy Burnham.  Perhaps predictably Tony Lloyd was parachuted into the safe seat of Rochdale, and the local aspiring lads like Mr. Birkett et al. didn't get a look in.

At the time he was being deselected, Simon Danczuk claimed that Tony Lloyd was after using the House of Commons as a retirement home.  Mr. Lloyd claimed on th eve of the election that he was 'a serious candidate'!

Today Mr. Birkett, commenting on the case of Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, declared:  'I know exactly what Debbie Abrahams is talking about' !  Ms. Abrams claims she had 'been treated in a "bullying, aggressive, intimidating and wholly unprofessional manner by certain individuals in your office".'

Birkett says 'as someone facing suspension from the Labour Party, on a wholly spurious claim that I have undertaken actions supposedly "grossly detrimental" to the party's interests' in his letter today he tells Mr. Jeremy Corbyn that he too has 'been treated abominably by many individuals in your office too'.

Meanwhile, Ms Abrahams told the BBC:: 
'My treatment in the last week has shown a bullying culture of the worst kind,' she said. 'As such I am making a formal complaint to both the Labour party and parliamentary authorities.'

Mrs Abrahams became the MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth in 2010.  She was promoted to the shadow cabinet after last year's general election.

 Is bullying becoming a bit of a bandwagon?

Speaking your mind carries dangers in Corbyn's Labour Party!

Anti-Zionist Activist -Tony Greenstein

Speaking your mind has become a perilous activity in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. This month, Tony Greenstein a Jewish anti-Zionist activist, was expelled from the Labour Party after its national constitution committee (NCC), found that he'd broken the party's rules and was guilty of abusive behaviour.

The son of a Rabbi, Greenstein, regularly posts blogs on social media which are critical of Zionists and pro-Israeli Members of Parliament. He says that antisemitism is being used to silence people in the Labour Party who criticise the state of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians and is a sham.

Greenstein's expulsion has been welcomed by Jewish Labour Movement and the Jewish Board of Deputies.  Ivor Caplin, south east chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement said:

"Deliberately harassing, intimidatory and hateful language of the kind Tony Greenstein has continually used has no place inside inside the Labour Movement."

Greenstein told the press that "Despite being Jewish, I was suspended as part of the false antisemitism witch-hunt in March 2016."

A row has broken out after it was announced that Ken Livingstone's two-year suspension is due to end on 27 April and that he's likely to be readmitted to the Labour Party within weeks. Livingstone was suspended when he was found to have brought the Labour Party into disrepute after stating that Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism in the 1930's. He says he was referring to the so-called Haavara agreement of 1933 between German Zionists and the Nazi government. Despite this being an historical fact, Labour's NEC is now planning to launch a new inquiry into allegations of antisemitism against him. Livingstone is threatening to take legal action if the party takes disciplinary action against him.

Over in Rochdale, Lancashire, Labour activist Mark Birkett, has been suspended by the Labour Party after raising issues about the election of Tony Lloyd in 2017 and his effectiveness as the Labour MP for Rochdale. Having claimed in emails that Lloyd was a 'shoe-in' MP, placed by Labour's NEC as the Labour candidate for Rochdale in order to find him a job, he also claims that Lloyd doesn't answer constituents letters or their queries. Labour refused to investigate his allegations and he was accused of threatening and intimidating Labour members. He now faces expulsion from the party.

Gold Rush For Rochdale Seat!

NEWS that Simon Danczuk MP, has at last been dumped as a candidate by the Labour Party, has led to  a band wagon effect in the local Labour Party as the leader of the Rochdale Labour Party, Councillor Richard Farnell, struggles to control the local membership.
Today, ROCHDALE ONLINE reports that 'at least three local Labour members, two of them councillors, are throwing their hats into the ring to be the party's candidate'.
In an email seen by Rochdale Online, Councillor Farnell said:
'I would ask that no one comments to the local/national media - referring them to the national Labour Party press office.  The decision on the selection of a candidate for Rochdale rests with the National Executive Committee.'
The three hopeful local Labour Party members wanting to stand in Danczuk's place are Councillor Chris Furlong; Castleton councillor Aasim Rashid and Former Lib Dem councillor Mark Birkett.
Backing Councillor Rashid is the Pakistani & Kashmiri Community Association. Spokesperson Mudassir Yasin said:  'We strongly recommend the idea of nominating a local person as the candidate for Rochdale who knows the issues and is keen enough to resolve them.'
An official decision will be announced after a meeting of NEC members on 3 May to approve candidates. The deadline for Labour’s candidate nominations is 5 May.