Former Labour MP for Birmingham Hall Green, Roger Godsiff has been banned from standing by the Labour Party after telling protestors in Birmingham that they had “a just cause” for protesting about sex education programmes in primary schools.
He said to protestors: “I will continue to try and fight your corner because you’re right. Nothing more, nothing less. You’re right.”
Roger Godsiff has subsequently confirmed that he will run as an independent in the general election. In the 2017 election he received 78% of the vote with a majority of 33,944.
In a statement explaining why he is standing as an independent labour candidate he said:
“I have always put the interests of my constituents above everything else and I don’t succumb to threats. I have supported the rights of parents to have a say, not a veto, over how the most sensitive aspects of the Equality Act are taught to young children. In doing this I incurred the anger of a small intolerant vindictive group within the LGBT community who were totally opposed to the concept of ‘age appropriateness’ as is allowed in the legislation and the accompanying DFE guidance.”
“The small group within the LGBT community who are fanatically opposed to parents having any say in how their 4/5 year old children are taught highly sensitive issues such as sexual orientation and gender assignment have had their ‘human sacrifice’ but I have no intention of walking away quietly.”
He went on to allege that the headteacher of Anderton Park primary school, which is in his constituency, privately told him that she agreed with him about age-appropriateness, but said that if she taught in that way then “the LGBT community would have something to say about it.” He later reflected “that no group within our democratic society should have the right to veto how legislation passed by parliament should be implemented.”
Meanwhile, the Labour party has yet to prevent former MP Keith Vaz from standing in East Leicester. The House of Commons Committee on Standards released a scathing report on 28 October which found that Keith Vaz had engaged in paid-for sex with two men and had offered to buy illegal drugs for a third person to use. This occurred in 2016 while Mr Vaz was chairing the Home Affairs Select Committee which was conducting inquiries into drugs and prostitution. There was therefore a clear conflict of interest, as well as a breach of the Code of Conduct for MPs. The Committee on Standards also found that Mr Vaz showed disrespect for the law and failed to fully co-operate with the inquiry process. It recommended that Mr Vaz be suspended as an MP for an unprecedented six months.
A statement on Mr Vaz’s website says he has been admitted to hospital and is receiving treatment for a serious mental health condition. The Labour Party has been criticised for refusing to remove the whip from Mr Vaz. The Shadow Home Secretary, Dianne Abbott has said that Mr Vaz should agree not to be a candidate.
It appears that the Labour Party is keen to deselect someone who stands up for parents’ rights, while refusing to discipline someone who has flagrantly broken the law. What standards does the Labour Party stand for? I hope that Roger Godsiff is able to retain his seat in defiance of the Labour Party in the forthcoming election.
*Since this article was published, Keith Vaz MP has announced that he will be retiring from Parliament and therefore not standing in the General Election.
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