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Politics

11th Sep 2018

‘Trots, Stalinists & Commies’ leave good luck card at Joan Ryan’s parliamentary office

The note was left with a Thomas the Tank Engine model

Oli Dugmore

joan ryan

The note was left with a Thomas the Tank Engine model

A good luck card has been left outside MP Joan Ryan’s parliamentary office door, signed by anonymous “Trots, Stalinists, commies and assorted hard-left.”

The representative for Enfield North, and chair of Labour Friends of Israel, lost a no-confidence motion tabled by her constituency party on September 6.

Ryan has been a member of the Labour party for 34 years and one of its leading pro-Israel voices but was accused by her local party of “smearing” Jeremy Corbyn.

After losing the motion 92 votes to 94, the MP tweeted “it never occurred to me that Trots Stalinists Communists and assorted hard left would gave confidence in me.”

The good luck card left outside Ryan’s office refers to this tweet. The Thomas the Tank Engine and ‘Choo Choo’ sign off reference the so-called ‘deselection express’ – efforts to deselect Labour’s moderate MPs.

This weekend Chuka Umunna demanded Jeremy Corbyn “call off the dogs” in a speech.

A spokesperson at Joan Ryan’s office told JOE: “This matter has been reported to the police and we have no further comment.”