Is Chairman Little doing a purge?

Richard Harman at Politik writes:

Little’s move has raised questions among some party members and MPs as to whether the ban is part of a wider move to swing the party to the left.

Leggett shares that view.

He says that’s why he will not rejoin the party.

“Not this Labour Party, not one that is clearly looking to purge in the way this one clearly is,” he told POLITIK.

But Little is sticking to his guns.

He says Leggett’s campaign is a right wing campaign; funded by right wingers and managed by a right winger.

Except Little is making things up. The Herald reports:

Leggett said his campaign manager was Michael Gregg and he was not a member of any political party.

Little explicitly said Leggett’s campaign was being managed by an ACT party member.

He takes issue with Labour leader Andrew Little’s description of him yesterday as “right wing” and says he is a “moderate.”

“I supported and continue to support a capital gains tax as a policy. Andrew Little doesn’t. Who is more right wing?” he said.

“I believe I’m of the centre-left, however within Labour I have always been a moderate,” Leggett told the Herald.

He said he was “pro-enterprise” but as mayor of Porirua, he had also been a strong advocate for social issues in the city.

“It’s a sad day for a party that once regarded itself as a broad church. It shows that a purge of the few party members left (and MPs) regarded as “right wing” is well under way.”

It seems Labour no longer wants moderates.