All the dark arts of politics were unleashed on Saturday as the Labour leadership used every trick imaginable to prevent a vote on Boris Johnson’s deal.
It was textbook Stalinism: tremendous pressure was piled on Labour MPs to prevent them from voting in accordance with their consciences and, in many cases, the wishes of their constituents. And this is only going to get worse.
Before the vote on the Prime Minister’s deal, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a man whose manner is intimidating even when he’s trying to be convivial, rang round every Labour MP deemed to be a waverer.
What’s more, disgusted at how Mr Corbyn (above) has allowed antisemitism to infect the party, I’ve already decided to resign as a Labour MP. Mr McDonnell would have been wasting his breath and he knew it
Except me. He and his comrades knew the reception they would get.
I don’t give in to bullying. And I don’t go back on promises to the voters who put me in Parliament either. I’ve consistently defied the party whip and voted to deliver Brexit.
What’s more, disgusted at how Mr Corbyn has allowed antisemitism to infect the party, I’ve already decided to resign as a Labour MP.
Mr McDonnell would have been wasting his breath and he knew it.
The atmosphere inside the Commons on Saturday was tense and raw. Outside it was more fevered still. I went out on several occasions to do TV interviews on College Green, and it felt like being caught up in a frenzied football crowd
Instead, the whips were focusing on anyone with weaknesses they could exploit. The threat of deselection was being used bluntly: Jon Lansman, founder of the Corbynista Momentum group, tweeted on Saturday: ‘Labour MPs cannot and must not vote for it. If they do, the NEC will have no choice but to replace them with a new, socialist Labour candidate at the next election.’
Before the vote on the Prime Minister’s deal, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a man whose manner is intimidating even when he’s trying to be convivial, rang round every Labour MP deemed to be a waverer
Not all threats are so crude.
It’s the job of the whips to know who is hoping for promotion, who owes a favour here or there, even who might crumple at the thought of rumours spreading about their private lives. It’s a dirty, nasty business.
That’s why plenty of Labour MPs tried to stay well out of the way of Mr McDonnell and his cronies before the vote.
One tactic was to take refuge in Parliament’s Smoking Room, where tobacco is no longer permitted but a giant screen showed live coverage of the Rugby World Cup.
The whips can approach people, but they can’t do much else. They don’t like witnesses.
Another safeguard is to stay in the chamber itself. Phones are not permitted. It’s only when it’s time to vote that the whips can pounce, as people make their way to the division chambers.
That’s why members who plan on defying the party line usually prefer to pair up with an ally, rather than standing alone.
The atmosphere inside the Commons on Saturday was tense and raw. Outside it was more fevered still. I went out on several occasions to do TV interviews on College Green, and it felt like being caught up in a frenzied football crowd.
I don’t give in to bullying. And I don’t go back on promises to the voters who put me in Parliament either. I’ve consistently defied the party whip and voted to deliver Brexit. John Mann is pictured outside Parliament on Saturday
The aggression was fed by Momentum activists in a co-ordinated campaign of intimidation on social media.
Some of the messages that I and my colleagues have received in recent days are horrific: ‘Your constituents are mostly racist scumbags.’ ‘Hope you get a horrible debilitating illness.’
I never get such abuse from my own constituents.
Plenty of people I talk to in Bassetlaw are passionately opposed to Brexit and they make heartfelt appeals to sway my views. But they are never offensive.
For all their bullying, I’m still not convinced that the hyper-aggressive strategy of Mr McDonnell, Mr Lansman and co will be successful. They acted too soon. There was no need to wheel out their biggest guns.
In the end, the amendment forestalling Mr Johnson’s deal was defeated by 16 votes. That’s a sizeable margin. If they had thought about it, it would have been tactically wiser to hold back the most ferocious threats for later battles.
Now, it is probable that the bill will get its second and third readings this week and next, possibly starting today.
This is the vote that the electorate will remember, the one where MPs will finally have to declare whether they are prepared to honour the referendum result – or not.
And the Labour whips have already played their strongest cards. They can and will repeat their threats, but their blackmailing tactics will be losing their power.
Call me an optimist. But, perhaps, when the vote matters most, those dark arts will be on the wane.