The Labour WhatsApp Leak

With the Tory opposition to Starmer’s government so far failing to gain any traction, the media’s attention has shifted to a more captivating story - the internal turmoil within the Labour party. This has been sparked by the leaking of grossly offensive messages from the somewhat tragically named “Trigger Me Timbers” WhatsApp group chat, thought to be made up of around 44 Labour Party figures. 11 Labour councillors and two MPs (Andrew Gwynne and Oliver Ryan) have been suspended from the party as a result. 

A whole slew of derogatory comments were revealed from Gwynne and Ryan, including sexist remarks about Angela Rayner and racism towards Dianne Abbott, attitudes which are even more shocking when coming from members of what is at least a nominally progressive party. This also speaks to an incredibly hostile political situation behind the scenes in the party, in which Rayner and Abbott are seen as traitors for their perceived disloyalty to the Starmer project. 

But what is perhaps most surprising about this story are messages Andrew Gwynne sent on the group chat showing total disdain for his constituents, hoping that a 72 year old constituent who complained about bin collections and didn’t vote labour as a result would “croak it” before the next election, and joked that a local cycling campaigner should be “mown down” by a lorry. Given the current general dissatisfaction with the government amongst the general public, having to endure catastrophic policy decisions such as the cut to winter fuel allowance, alongside a general shift towards Cameron-era austerity politics, such comments are likely to be very damaging for the Labour party’s public image.

On another note, this kind of behaviour is not what you would expect from a party which has just won a crushing landslide in the general election, with this type of internal division and antipathy towards voters seeming more fit for a party struggling in opposition. This is indicative of the general mood within the labour party post-election, which rather than being triumphant has been paranoid over the fragility of their victory, with the insurgent Reform UK snapping at their heels. If Labour wants to have any hope of winning the next election, and preventing Nigel Farage from becoming Prime Minister, it must improve its image fast - this kind of media narrative that Labour is sneering at its own constituents will only seal its fate towards electoral failure.