Stephen Pollard

the party win power. Yes, in response to the protest, Jeremy Corbyn said that he was a “militant opponent of antiSemitism” and an “ally” in the fight against anti-Semitism.

But the only sensible reaction to this is hollow laughter. The idea that the words mean anything is ludicrous. Throughout his entire career Mr Corbyn has allied with anti-Semites.

He embraces the terror organisation Hamas, which is committed to finishing Hitler’s work and wiping every Jew off the planet. He invites Muslim cleric Raed Salah – who says that Jews kill Christian children to drink their blood – to tea at the House of Commons. And – the story that burst the dam at the weekend and led to the protest in Parliament Square – he endorses a virulently anti-Semitic mural.

He cannot change his worldview. His defence of antiSemites goes hand in hand with his hard-Left ideology. He is what he is.

That is why the real story here is not about Mr Corbyn. It is about the moderates in the Labour Party: the decent, normal MPs and members who are sickened by their leader.

There are many of them – some, like Ian Austin, Pat McFadden, Liz Kendall and John Woodcock – always stand up to Mr Corbyn and say what is right. But however much they say and do that, they must still confront an appalling fact: by remaining in the Labour Party they are enabling him and his supporters.

At the last election it was possible for them to say that since there was no realistic chance of Mr Corbyn winning, they could campaign for Labour in good conscience. That option is no longer there. It is possible that Labour will win the next election. Merely by continuing to be Labour MPs they are helping work towards Mr Corbyn’s arrival in Downing Street.

Yet they know how dangerous this would be to the country (and I’ve not even mentioned national security and his behaviour over the Russian FTER Ken Livingstone’s disgusting comments about Jews allying with Hitler, for example, moderates said that he had to be expelled… or else. That was two years ago. Last April Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said he was “ashamed” Mr Livingstone was still a member. He still is.

Nothing changes and nothing will change because Mr Corbyn cannot change and the moderates refuse to confront the reality that their very presence in the party allows it to go on.

There is only one solution to this, which is for the decent forces within the Parliamentary Labour Party to resign the Labour whip and sit as independent Labour MPs, with a view to forming a new party. Only then will they be able to remain true to their principles.

This will not be easy. Many will be committing career suicide. But they entered politics for public service and the greatest service they can do for the public now is to do everything in their power to torpedo Labour’s hard-Left leadership.

Decent people as they are, the longer they stay the more they become the real problem.

‘Jewish community is so frightened’