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Bakers’ union chief suspended from Labour

Several hundred supporters attended a rally ahead of the hustings which started with “Socialist songs” praising union membership and the leader of the 1916 Easter Rising James Connolly.

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“The reality is something very, very different from what they actually do in their economic strategy.”
Mr Smith said falling to third place behind the Tories in Scotland should be a “wake-up call” for Labour north of the Border. “I intend to challenge my suspension robustly and am now taking legal advice”.

In a statement released today Draper said, “I believe this flies in the face of natural justice”.

But he told reporters: “I did walk through the train”.

The latest row blew up after Left-wing union boss Ronnie Draper, who leads the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, was suspended by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee.

Showsec said it had made a decision to withdraw its services in the interest of its staff after seeing the tone of the union comments.

So the past fortnight has seen Mr Smith go further and further with his attacks on Brexit – culminating in last night’s fiery display where he all-but-accused Mr Corbyn of outright lying about his support for Remain. Another said his application to join had been rejected on the grounds that he had tweeted support for the Green Party.

About 40 minutes into the journey, Mr Corbyn and his party were escorted to seats by train staff.

Draper, who backed a Leave vote at the European Union referendum, said the party sent him an email to notify him of the suspension.

He said: “I stand just as Scottish Labour did in May on an unashamedly anti-austerity platform with policies that will ensure that no-one across Scotland and the rest of the country is left behind”.

McDonnell’s intervention highlights the bitter nature of the party’s leadership contest, which has already been marred by a series of court battles over the rules.

McDonnell questioned why Draper had been suspended while the Labour peer David Sainsbury had had no action taken against him after Electoral Commission figures showed he had donated £2.1m to the Liberal Democrats in the first quarter of this year, as well as the same sum to Labour.

Noise levels soared amongst the 400-strong crowd when the subject turned to June’s referendum.

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The Glasgow debate, which will be held before an audience of Labour members at the SECC from 19:00 BST, will be streamed live on the Labour Party website.

Jeremy Corbyn & Nicola Sturgeon