By Andy Robertson
As the fallout over Amber Rudd’s decision to resign from her position in the cabinet and walk away from the Tory party rumbles on, little to no fuss has been made of another MP’s decision to quit.
John Mann decided to resign from his position in the Labour Party and step down as an MP altogether. The politician, who has served his constituents in Bassetlaw (Nottinghamshire) for 18
years since being first elected in 2001 had become so disheartened with the Brexit debacle and Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to tackle and root out the Anti-Semitism that is rife within the party.
Mr Mann has never been a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, openly refusing to back the Labour leader after allegations of child abuse within his constituency were not acted on. He wrote an open letter to Corbyn during the leadership campaign saying that it would be “inappropriate” for him to become leader due to the child abuse allegations being ignored by the now Labour leader.The MP has slammed Corbyn on several occasions, refused to back him in TV interviews and supported Pontypridd MP Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election in a bid to replace the divisive
Corbyn. He has a reputation for ‘telling it how it is’, which has gained him many admirers over the years.
Mann was credited with tackling a major drug epidemic in Bassetlaw – Worksop especially – where he led an enquiry into heroin use in the area. The results of which were seen as staggering. By
offering addicts a clear choice between treatment or prison and overseeing further training for local GP’s to help addicts get their lives back under control, the number of addicts in treatment in
Bassetlaw rose from 2 to 400, with related crime falling by 75%. After what was seen as a major victory in the fight against drugs, Mann went further and tried to raise a motion in order to have Salvia Divinorum – an opioid plant – banned in the UK. Only 11 MP’s supported him and his motion failed. He tried again in 2008 with the Observer publishing the MP’s
open letter to the then home secretary Jacqui Smith.
In 2010 Mann criticised MP’s over the Expenses Scandal, arguing that they could not be trusted to self-regulate and slamming “MP’s trying to protect other MP’s” after evidence of document
shedding came to light. John Mann had no problem talking about injustices and to many was a breath of fresh air within an establishment of elitism and alleged corruption.
The issue of Anti-Semitism within the Labour Party is not just a party/MP issue, but a national issue. Receiving the Jan Karski award in 2009 in recognition of John Mann’s commitment to fighting anti- Semitism, it’s easy to see why he has decided to constantly oppose Jeremy Corbyn and eventually leave the Labour Party. Mann even went as far as publicly confronting Ken Livingstone after a radio interview discussing Adolf Hitler, calling Livingstone a “F***ing Disgrace”.
John Mann has been consistent in his Brexit stance, something which has been a rarity in the House of Commons. Mann stated his intention to vote Leave, believing Labour voter’s “fundamentally
disagree” with Labour’s official stance. It seemed that most voters agreed with him and just like the majority of the UK voted to Leave, 68% of Bassetlaw residents wanted out. Throughout the Brexit process, Mr Mann has continuously voted in favour of leaving the EU. Something his constituents voted for and he felt should be implemented. Such a hard line was always going to end in tears. The MP sided with the pro Brexit agenda on almost every vote and when he was recently accused of voting with the government along with Kate Hoey, another MP who has declared she will not stand in the next General Election, Mann blasted “I did not vote with the government. I voted against an amendment that is deliberately calculated to block Brexit” Enough was enough for John Mann and he decided he could not lie to his constituents and “ask Bassetlaw residents to support Jeremy Corbyn”.
Mr Mann has been accused by some of being a Tory due to his decision to accept a fulltime role as a government advisor on anti-Semitism for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Mann was first appointed as advisor in July 2019 by former Prime minister Theresa May. The outgoing Labour MP has not defected to the Conservatives, but merely taken on the role on a
fulltime basis. A fact that has been left out by some Labour supporters and the MSM.
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