Disputes at the Disputes Panel

The latest leak to the Guardian goes some way to explain why Labour is having such problems over antisemitism.

From the report it would seem that the Disputes Panel has now become factionally politicised, with members voting not so much on the merits of the case as on the perceived allegiance of the people under discussion.  If some one is felt to be in the "correct" faction it doesn't appear to matter whether they are actually breaking the rules.  They just get backed by a proportion of the Panel anyway.

That is not going to be a way to reassure anyone that antisemitisim or any other disciplinary matter is going to be handled fairly.

More surprising perhaps is the sloppiness with which members of the Panel appear to approach their quasi-judicial responsibilities.  Quasi-judicial judgements are quite common in all kinds of contexts such as staff tribunals, local government committees, even ministerial judgements yet some politicians seem to have real trouble adjusting their thinking to them.

Essentially you are supposed to come to a decision with an open mind and base it upon the evidence in front of you.

That wasn't too difficult was it?

Yet Christine Shawcroft appears to have decided her view in advance based on her general knowledge of the circumstances.  Worse she then claimed she had not looked at the details of the case in the Alan Ball "hoax" case.  All this she wrote down and circulated to a number of colleagues in an email that was then leaked.

Aside from the political embarrassment of all that, it provides ample ammunition to any one who wants to challenge the Disputes Panel decision as legally invalid if one or more members of the Panel appear to have decided the case in advance (known as "predetermination") or with reference to matters outside the evidence (non-material considerations).

The comments attributed to Darren Williams in a post-hearing facebook post seem to show a similar misunderstanding.

The Panel had better be given training in these pretty straightforward issues before they land the Labour Party with hefty legal bills and a series of legal challenges.