"In a single day, the Labour party has lost Luciana Berger and 'gained' Derek Hatton. As swaps go, this isn’t dissimilar to giving someone an orgasm and them giving you gonorrhoea". That was how Guardian columnist Hannah Jane Parkinson described the return to the Labour party of '80s Militant Trot (and champagne socialist) Derek Hatton. Expelled almost 35 years ago by then leader Neil Kinnock, it was perhaps no surprise that with the hard left now in control of Labour he would eventually be allowed back in. The timing could have been better, coming as it did on the day the 'Gang of Seven' walked out, but perhaps Jeremy was hoping it would distract some attention from the big news of the day. Within 48 hours the decision has become yet another opportunity for everyone to laugh at his party.
Why? Because Derek Hatton has been suspended from the Labour party. That's right, within two days of being readmitted. Hilarious!
The suspension is thought to relate to tweets dating back to 2012, one of which was retweeted by Labour MP Ian Austin yesterday (see below). He will likely be reinstated (again) at a later date, as seems to be the case with virtually every suspension over alleged anti-Semitism. As a supporter of a communist entryist group trying to take over the Labour party, he will surely be looked upon in a favourable light by that other communist entryist group, Momentum. Where Militant failed, Momentum are very much succeeding!
