Scientists for Labour blocks membership applications

The campaign group Scientists for Labour has stopped processing membership applications until the Labour leadership contest has finished.

In a message posted on its website on 13 July, the organisation said that the decision followed a “massive spike” in membership applications, probably linked to the challenge to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

“It’s great to be loved!” the website says. “However, it’s come to our attention that this may not be because science policy has become a priority for the nation but perhaps more to do with people trying to side-step the Labour National Executive Committee decision that eligibility to vote in the upcoming leadership election includes a cut-off threshold for membership: you have to have joined before February 2016.”