CRAIG Thomson's decision to vote with the opposition in parliament has earned him a place among Labor's rogues gallery of rats and deserves immediate expulsion from the party.
Labor has always had a high tolerance for internal critics and dissenters, but not for those who vote with its opponents.
On the scale of ratfinkery, Thomson's votes against the government on procedural motions were minor offences but they are still grounds for expelling him from the party. It is unlikely this was a Labor stunt, as Tony Abbott has suggested.
Yesterday, Thomson described himself as "an independent" MP. But he is not. He has not resigned from the Labor Party; his membership has been suspended. He is still bound by the party's rules and caucus decisions.
What is far more galling for the party faithful is that, after supporting Thomson for so long, despite the damage he has done to Labor, he has now betrayed them on a parliamentary vote.
Given the breach of the party's rules and the breach of faith with a party that supported him against its better judgment, a senior Labor official told me yesterday: "If someone was to charge Thomson on breaching solidarity, then the party would be forced to act and it is unlikely to be favourable."
Labor has not hesitated to expel prime ministers, premiers or backbenchers. Prime minister Billy Hughes and NSW premier William Holman were expelled over conscription in 1916.
MPs were expelled when the party split during the Depression and in the 1950s over communism. West Australian MP Graeme Campbell crossed the floor and lost his Labor endorsement in 1995. Senator Mal Colston resigned before he ratted on Labor by running against the party's nominee for Senate deputy president in 1996. Leniency has been afforded to dozens of MPs who have opposed caucus decisions, absented from voting for Labor or crossed the floor, but none has brought the party into such disrepute as Thomson. This is a leadership moment for Julia Gillard. To keep faith with party rules and conventions, it is time to sever Labor's links with Thomson.
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