Labour party members in West London hoping to show their support for Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership contest have been prevented from meeting by a number of venues.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had been due to address a meeting of Labour members at Ealing Town Hall, but after Ealing Council pulled the plug on the meeting, the venue was switched to a nearby church. However the booking at the church was also cancelled a few hours before the meeting, with officials citing a range of contradictory reasons. Instead, over 200 Corbyn supporters braved the hottest day of the British summer to attend a rally on Ealing Common on Tuesday 19th July.
Raj Gill, an Interim Chair of Ealing Momentum and Labour Party member, said: "In the last few weeks abuse and smears have been hurled at us by our own MPs and tabloid journalists. As a result our ability to organise for a new and fairer kind of politics has been curtailed on tenuous and worrying grounds. These political moves will only make us even more determined to organise for Jeremy Corbyn.
In Hounslow, Momentum members had also been due to hold a discussion in support of Jeremy Corbyn at a local church, but again the church pulled out.
Instead, they found sanctuary in an Indian restaurant. The event will now include a curry and will be held at Kingsway Banqueting restaurant on Sunday 24th July from 5pm.
Secretary of Momentum - Hounslow Crispin Flintoff said: "I had to find an alternative venue at short notice. The Kingsway Banqueting restaurant has promised that no political pressure will prevent the booking going ahead. But what swung it is that they have fantastic veggie and meat curry."
"It has become increasingly difficult for groups to find affordable places to meet, especially now that leisure services have been outsourced," Flintoff added.