Labour hopefuls face battle to end rifts and racism
LABOUR’S five leadership hopefuls lined up yesterday to reveal the true scale of the disarray within their battered party.
They told how the anti-semitism crisis helped sink Labour at last month’s general election, leading to its worst result since 1935.
The four women and one man vying to succeed Jeremy Corbyn gathered in Liverpool to make their pitch for the top job. It was the first in a series of events around the country before the leader is finally confirmed on April 4.
They all admitted the party suffered from in-fighting, and were asked how they would stop the factionalism that flourished under Mr Corbyn.
Addressing the failure to get to grips with anti-semitism, leadership favourite Sir Keir Starmer, 57, said he would require a weekly report on the issue to land on his desk.
He added: “If you’re anti-semitic you shouldn’t be in the Labour Party. It is as simple as that.”
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, 40, an outsider for the top job, was damning, saying the failure to deal with highprofile cases “gave the green light to anti-semites that they are welcome”.
Left-wing “continuity Corbyn” candidate Rebecca Long-bailey, 40, also admitted the party had not dealt with the issue effectively or responded to complaints fast enough. She said activists were “absolutely devastated” when they met members of the Jewish community who “said that they didn’t trust our party any more”. That was echoed by Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips, 38, who said: “Jewish people were scared of the Labour Party winning the election. That is deeply serious. Labour has now lost the credibility to handle its own complaints system.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, 59, said Labour “must be critical of a far-right government of Israel” but said that blaming Jews is “where racism begins”. Ms Nandy said Labour needs somebody who can speak for the whole country, while Sir Keir said the leader would have to unite the party, form an effective opposition and forge a path to victory.
Ms Long-bailey said “an aspirational socialist government” would “drive through democratic reform, democratise our economy” and ensure prosperity reaches every community Labour represents.
Ms Phillips said she had a track record of taking on Mr Johnson. “We’ve got to start talking to people’s hearts and speaking in a message that people receive, because that’s what Boris Johnson does.”
In a further sign of strife at the heart of the party, it is claimed a major split has emerged on the Left between former allies Shadow Chancellor John Mcdonnell and Ms Long-bailey.
According to a source, Mr Mcdonnell, who was widely considered Ms Long-bailey’s mentor, has been banned from her campaign team and is being described as “the serpent”.
He reportedly wanted the hard-left Labour Representation Committee to run her campaign but her team resisted it.