We are raising money to fund the preparation of a pre-action letter to the Labour Party in relation to its undemocratic reselection of Ms Fiaz as the candidate for Executive Mayor of Newham on 5^th May 2022, despite numerous allegations of bullying having been made against her. 

We are a group of loyal Labour Party members, resident in the London Borough of Newham.  We are committed to ensuring that the Party follows its own rules and obligations set out in the Labour Party Rule Book in ensuring that the candidates selected as the Party’s representatives meet the high standards of conduct required of individuals running for public office.  This is an issue of national importance: in order for the Labour Party effectively to contest elections and regain power, it must be seen to be committed to democratic elections and taking action against allegations of bullying.  

We are particularly concerned about the flawed and undemocratic process used to select the Labour Party's candidate for Executive Mayor of Newham.

Ms Fiaz was re-selected by a panel organized by Labour Party Officers because the 2 constituencies concerned were suspended for entryism in March 2021.  Numerous complaints, including alleged bullying and antisemitism, have been made to the Labour Party by more than half the Council Members over a 3 year period and have remained unacknowledged by the Party. 

We are concerned that the panel were either kept in ignorance of these complaints or endorsed and condoned the alleged un-investigated behaviour.

Following the re-selection of Ms Fiaz two councillors- life long Party Members - resigned, motivated by the failure of Labour to investigate the complaints of bullying by Ms Fiaz’s administration. 

Our lawyers have written to the Labour Party to express serious concerns in relation to the following issues:

• The Party’s failure to investigate properly or at all, the extremely serious and repeated concerns raised by Labour Party members and Councillors in Newham regarding the conduct of Ms Fiaz, including an independent report implicating her in “fostering a culture of antisemitism”;
• The manifestly unfair process by which the Party chose Ms Fiaz as the candidate for Executive Mayor; and
• The ongoing suspension of East and West Ham Constituency Labour Parties, with no roadmap or plan in place for lifting the suspension.

Despite these extremely serious concerns, and the bundle of evidence provided in support of the allegations set out in our lawyer’s letter, the Party has failed to provide a substantive response to explain or justify its conduct in relation to these matters.

We feel that we are left with no choice but to take legal action against the Labour Party to protect the interests of its Members in the Borough of Newham and, in particular, East and West Ham Constituency Party areas who have been unjustly denied the opportunity to participate in the selection process.

We are extremely disappointed by the Party’s failure, despite its commitment to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to properly handle complaints of antisemitism, to investigate the allegations into Ms Fiaz’s conduct and are deeply saddened that we are forced to resort to legal action for the complaints to be taken seriously.

At this stage, we have a fundraising target of £7,000 to cover the legal fees for preparing a pre-action letter to the Labour Party setting out the basis for our claim. 

The Labour Party Rule Book constitutes a legally enforceable contract between the Party and its’ Members.  We intend to enforce these rights.

Thank you so much for your support!