LONDON: Left-wing British filmmaker Ken Loach said on Saturday that he had been expelled from the Labour Party in a “purge” by leader Keir Starmer.
Veteran socialist Loach, 85, said he had been kicked out after refusing to “disown” other far-left members who have already been ejected.
“Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” he tweeted.
Starmer is battling to hold his party together, with supporters of his far-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn frequently criticizing his leadership.
Corbyn’s tenure was dogged by incidents of anti-Semitism among the party’s more radical members, and Labour last month expelled four associated groups for not being “compatible” with its values.
Loach tweeted that Starmer’s “clique” would not succeed.
“I am proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimized by the purge. There is indeed a witch hunt.
“Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few,” he added.
Loach has explored his socialist ideology through films including “Kes” and “I, Daniel Blake.”
Labour MP John McDonnell, shadow finance minister under Corbyn, called the move a “disgrace.”
“To expel such a fine socialist who has done so much to further the cause of socialism is a disgrace,” he tweeted.
“Ken’s films have exposed the inequalities in our society, have given us hope for change & inspired us to fight back. I send my solidarity to my friend and comrade.”
UK Labour Party kicks out veteran filmmaker Ken Loach
https://arab.news/v3g5e
UK Labour Party kicks out veteran filmmaker Ken Loach
- Veteran socialist Loach, 85, said he had been kicked out after refusing to "disown" other far-left members
- Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure was dogged by incidents of anti-Semitism among the party's more radical members
Russian drone attack forces power cuts in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, military says
- Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid
KYIV: Russian drones struck infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, forcing emergency power blackouts for more than 45,000 customers and disrupting heat supplies, military administration head Oleksandr Vilkul said.
“Please fill up on water and charge your devices, if you have the chance. It’s going to be difficult,” Vilkul said on the Telegram messaging app.
Water utility pumping stations switched to generators and water remained in the system, but there could be pressure problems.
The full scale of the attack was not immediately known. There was no comment from Russia about the strike.
Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine’s power plants, substations and transmission lines with missiles and drones, seeking to knock out electricity and heating and hinder industry during the nearly four-year war.
Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid.
Kryvyi Rih, a steel-and-mining hub in the Dnipropetrovsk region and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, has been hit repeatedly, with strikes killing civilians and damaging homes and industry.
The city sits close enough to southern front lines to be within strike range, while its factories, logistics links and workforce make it economically important and a key rear-area center supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
