Remove this stain of anti-Semitism, rages Brown
At social gatherings of British Jews, all the talk is of which country to flee to if Corbyn becomes PM
GORDON Brown warned yesterday that the very soul of Labour was at stake as he urged Jeremy Corbyn to get a grip of the party’s anti-Semitism crisis.
Attacking the Labour leadership’s failure to tackle the issue, the former prime minister said it must take action ‘immediately’ to repair relations with the Jewish community.
He said it was imperative that Labour ‘unanimously, unequivocally, and immediately’ adopted the internationally agreed definition of anti-Semitism.
An emotional Mr Brown said he could not be ‘silent’ on the allegations, adding: ‘This stain has got to be removed.’
Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is to decide tomorrow whether to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitic abuse.
However, speaking at the same event as Mr Brown, veteran Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge insisted last night that the anti-Semitism row could only end if Mr Corbyn stood down.
‘The problem is that he is the problem,’ she said to applause at the Jewish Labour Movement conference.
‘The party is bigger than Corbyn. Our party has been around for over 100 years, Corbyn has only been there for three – three damaging years.’ She warned it would no longer be enough for the NEC to adopt the IHRA definition, adding: ‘It might have been three months ago – it might have enabled us all to start talking to each other and bring trust again. But I think that moment has passed.’
Fellow Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, suggested yesterday that some of the party’s MPs could even go on strike if the IHRA definition was not adopted.
Mr Brown’s intervention came as fellow Labour grandees Tony Blair and Ed Balls spoke out against the allegations plaguing Mr Corbyn and Labour.
Former prime minister Mr Blair said the scandal had been ‘a truly shameful episode for the Labour Party’.
Mr Balls, the former secretary of state for children, schools and families, said some of Mr Corbyn’s comments about Jews had ‘crossed the line’.
Mr Corbyn and the Labour Party have been dogged by accusations of antiSemitism over the summer. Revelations included photos of the Labour leader holding a wreath at a ceremony where terrorists linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre were honoured.
While he avoided naming Mr Corbyn yesterday, Mr Brown attacked Labour’s failure to tackle antiSemitism under his leadership.
He received a standing ovation at the conference in north London as he called for the party to adopt the IHRA’s definition, telling the audience: ‘This is not a theoretical and abstract problem, it is about the soul of the Labour Party.
‘We cannot stand up for the rights of some of the people, some of the time. We have to stand up for all of the people all of the time.’
Labour was heavily criticised after an earlier move by its NEC not to adopt the internationally agreed definition of anti-Semitism, claiming it could stifle criticism of Israeli policy on Palestine. However, Mr Brown said the definition – which has been adopted by 31 countries – clearly stated criticism of Israel was allowed.
Yesterday, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell refused to fully commit the party to adopting the complete definition, saying that the NEC would ‘resolve’ the row. Mr Brown said: ‘It is time to say this wrong must and can be righted. This injustice has to be remedied, this stain must be removed. The sore that exists and the harm that has been done and the hurt it has caused has to be
‘The very soul of the party is at stake’
The IHRA definition is something we should support unanimously, unequivocally and immediately. It should be accepted fully and unconditionally.’ Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls said of Mr Corbyn: ‘In terms of some of the things he’s said he’s crossed the line. That is something that has got to be addressed with more vigour than we’ve seen so far. Jeremy has not done enough to distance himself from some of the past statements and some of the people he appeared on platforms with.’
Tony Blair described Mr Corbyn’s handling of anti-Semitism as ‘a truly shameful episode for the Labour Party’.
In an interview to be broadcast today, he said it was a ‘really terrible thing’ to have made the Jewish community feel ‘really alienated and anxious’.
He told Euronews: ‘It’s causing real difficulties for those of us who want to stay in the Labour Party and want to see it come back to sense.’
Last night, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson launched an online campaign against internet trolls to counter the abuse directed at MPs who speak out against anti-Semitism. He cited Emily Benn, who threatened to quit the party over the ‘sheer level of personal abuse’ she received from supporters of Mr Corbyn, some of whom said they hoped she would get cancer.
Almost a third of Labour voters believe Jeremy Corbyn would be a bad prime minister, a poll claims.
Fifty-one per cent of those who backed Labour at the last election think he would do a good job in No10, while 32 per cent disagreed, the YouGov poll for Channel 5 found. Across all voters, 24 per cent thought he would be a good PM, while 58 per cent disagreed.
Tories felt Theresa May was best to lead the party into an election, beating Boris Johnson by 31 per cent to 20 per cent, with Jacob Rees-Mogg on 19 per cent. Among all voters, Mr Johnson was preferred to head the Tories over the PM by 18 per cent to 16 per cent.
Comment – Page 16