Alastair Campbell Blasts Green Party for Ceasefire Vote ‘Smear’ Despite History Of Similar Actions
Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell lambasted the Green Party on Sunday for their “nastiness” in sharing a publicly available list of MPs who abstained from backing last week’s ceasefire vote, despite having done the same during the failed attempt to call for a second Brexit referendum.
Campbell, who worked under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, took aim at the Greens for posting the list of Labour MPs who withheld from the Commons ceasefire vote on the Gaza conflict, brought by the Scottish National Party. The list is available online via the government website.
On Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Campbell was quizzed about comments from shadow Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves who voiced her concerns about demonstrations against MPs, condemning actions that crossed from “protest to intimidation,” especially those targeting MPs at their homes.
Campbell echoed her sentiments, drawing a chilling parallel to the tragic killings of Labour MP Jo Cox and Tory MP Sir David Amess, warning of the dangers of stoking hostility towards politicians.
“And, for example, the Green Party doing that huge social media campaign that they did – listing all the Labour MPs — and saying, ‘these people, if you want to know the people who voted to keep the bombing going’ — there’s a nastiness to the whole thing,” he said.
However, viewers were quick to note the irony, as the list is already a matter of public record on the parliamentary website. Several major news outlets, including The Mirror and The Guardian, along with broadcasters like the BBC and Sky News, have also published similar lists.
Furthermore, Green Party councillor Joe Lever pointed that Campbell also had a list of publishing lists of MPs who failed to back his point of view. In 2019, Campbell shared a complete list of Labour politicians who abstained from a vote led by Remainer campaign group The People’s Vote that hoped to prompt a second Brexit referendum.
Alastair Campbell again.
This time doing that “nastiness” he was criticising on Sky News by listing every Labour MP who abstained or voted against a People’s Vote on Brexit. https://t.co/Ybtk0cSqtM
— Cllr Joe Lever (@JoeLever89) November 19, 2023
On another occasion, in 2022, after a budget bill, Campbell advocated the public to stalk Tory MPs and “make sure they know what you think of what happened today.”
Regards the ceasefire vote and protest, stood firm in his support for Reeves’ stance on the issue, emphasising the importance of peaceful protest while condemning any form of intimidation.
