Days after the Home Affairs committee published its anti-Semitism report, Corbynistas have named an MP embroiled in multiple anti-Semitism rows as their choice for its next chairman. Paul Flynn has next to no chance of winning, but the decision by five Shadow Cabinet ministers and other top Corbynistas to sponsor his vanity bid has infuriated colleagues. In 2011 Flynn was condemned for suggesting the British Israeli ambassador Matthew Gould had “Jewish loyalty”. More recently Flynn said Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis was “wholly untrue”. Those backing him include Clive Lewis, Ronnie Campbell, Richard Burgon, Andy McDonald, Dennis Skinner, Nick Smith, Cat Smith, Kelvin Hopkins, Rachael Maskell, Carolyn Harris and Margaret Greenwood. If Paul Flynn had been in charge of the Home Affairs anti-Semitism report, fair to say its conclusions would have been somewhat different. MPs are very angry about this…

Paul Flynn’s crackpot plan to abolish MPs’ expenses receipts has been met with the contempt it deserves. He is one of Corbyn’s top allies but even the Labour leader’s team are slapping down his ridiculous proposal. Flynn wants it so MPs don’t have to reveal what they’ve spent your money on. Under his opaque scheme, taxpayers would have been unaware that during the expenses scandal Flynn wrongly claimed over £2,000 in mortgage interest and had to pay it back. Nor would you have known that he blew £7,000 of your cash on a new kitchen. Or another £1,100 on new carpets. Or another £1,200 on decoration. Flynn wants it so MPs can claim expenses with impunity without filing receipts because it’s a “chore“. Clearly having two Shadow Cabinet jobs is too much of a strain on the old fool…

Labour have drawn up plans to end the requirement for MPs to provide receipts for expenses claims. The staggeringly opaque proposals have been made by Shadow Leader of the House Paul Flynn, who is responsible for his party’s policy on MPs’ expenses. Flynn admits his plan is “provocative“, but claims it is necessary to abolish the expenses watchdog and implement an unreceipted allowance for MPs, because filing expenses is a “chore“. The text of the plan, seen by Guido, states:

“A monthly 30 minute chore was complicated by IPSA into hours of tedious frustrating trawling through a bureaucratic morass of rules that are complex and tedious. IPSA robs MPs and our staff of much of their most precious possession – time. There is continuing resentment against unnecessary chores that diminish MPs ability to do their numberless essential tasks.”

Hundreds of thousands of workers across the country take the time to file expenses claims, but Flynn says that’s too much effort for MPs…

He argues the current system, which allows the public to hold MPs to account on each expenses claim they make, should be abolished and replaced by a new “automatic” allowance with no receipts and no transparency whatsoever:

“MPs would embrace a new system without claims or the expensive IPSA. It could be based on an allowance calculated on average expenses based on distance from Westminster and paid automatically.”

So he wants the taxpayer to write MPs a cheque for tens of thousands of pounds and never know how the money is spent. Opaque, unaccountable and ripe for corruption, this is Labour’s new policy on expenses…

UPDATE: A Labour spokesman says “What Paul Flynn has suggested is not Labour Party policy”. But as Shadow Leader of the House Flynn is responsible for their policy on MPs’ expenses…

Last month Labour MP Paul Flynn emailed a Jewish constituent claiming the anti-Semitism crisis was a “nasty smear, distorted, exaggerated, wholly untrue”. Today he’s emailed MP colleagues to inform them that the whole row and ensuing inquiry is “moral panic”.

From: FLYNN, Paul
Sent: 10 May 2016 16:17
Subject: Moral Panic

Dear Colleague,

Moral panic is on the march in the Labour Party again.

A councillor in my constituency has been suspended. I have known him for 40 years, greatly respect him and affirm that there is not a single atom of racialism or anti-Semitism in his body. The accusation is based on a perverse interpretation of the anger he expressed at atrocities in Gaza committed by the Israeli Army in 2014. This is an injustice prompted by the political imperative to act swiftly on accusations-even though they are not substantiated and created by malicious anti-Labour forces. They are trawling through millions of statements made by Labour members and none by members of other parties…

[A] greatly respected MP and comrade Ian Gibson resigned his seat because of an article published in the Telegraph. He claimed that the party’s executive refused to listen to his full explanation that nothing improper had occurred. Again, because of hysterical media political pressure of moral panic to act swiftly against both the guilty and innocent he was expelled from the party. As an honourable man, he resigned his seat and Chloe Smith replaced him. Ian was guilty of nothing except being the victim of a Telegraph smear.

The party permanently wounded itself seeking transitory political advantage. We must not repeat the error by doing our enemies’ work through exaggerating a problem that 80 Jewish members of our party described as ‘tiny and trivial’.

Best wishes,

Paul Flynn MP

Remember, Flynn was once hauled in by the whips when he accused Britain’s first Jewish ambassador to Israel of having“divided loyalties”. He now claims the recent spate of suspensions were “created by malicious anti-Labour forces”. Exposed, he means…

A few years ago Labour MP Paul Flynn was hauled in by the whips amid an anti-Semitism row when he accused Britain’s first Jewish ambassador to Israel of having “divided loyalties”. Flynn has offered his thoughts on the current crisis in a letter to a Labour-voting Jewish constituent which has been passed to Guido:

Dear xxxxxx

Sorry to trouble you but I hear from one of our canvassers that you were concerned about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. We hear these accusations made in parliament along with many other nasty smear stories… The accusations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party are among the wildest and least accurate of insults… Having been in the Labour Party since childhood I have never met an anti-Semite in the party… A number of journalists have seized on some comments made probably by pro-Palestine students and distorted and exaggerated them… There are many accusations that may be made against political parties. This one is wholly untrue.

Best wishes,

Paul Flynn

That’s another vote lost on Thursday…

Congratulations to loony lefty Labour MP Paul Flynn for submitting the least helpful intervention in the Syria debate. Flynn reckons attacking ISIS will “escalate a regional war into a world war between Christians and Muslims”. Guido awards him the Order of the OTT…