Nandy hits out at rivals over antiSemitism

Lisa Nandy has accused her three leadership rivals of having remained “silent” while in the shadow cabinet during Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis.

The Wigan MP, the only backbencher left in the contest, used a leadership debate to put distance between her and the other candidates on the issue that has dogged Labour since Jeremy Corbyn became leader.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently investigating complaints of anti-Semitism within the party, along with the actions it took to tackle the scourge.

Ms Nandy told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme it was “not good enough” for shadow cabinet members to talk about demanding reports into what was being done to tackle the problem, but then failing to act when nothing more was provided.

It comes after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, during a leadership debate on BBC Newsnight on Wednesday, said she and Sir Keir Starmer had requested that evidence be given to Labour’s top team.

Ms Nandy said: “We are not having an honest reckoning with how badly we have got this wrong and the collective role we have played in this.

“Leadership is about taking on issues when they are hard. Sitting in the shadow cabinet asking for reports, not seeing them, challenging and then remaining silent is not good enough.

“We have to be honest that far too many people in this party did not stand up and speak out when it counted.”

Ms Thornberry defended herself against Ms Nandy’s accusations, arguing it was the failure of Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee, to crack down on racism.

She said: “We may be throwing people out of the party now for being anti-Semitic – and we are – but why didn’t we do it two and a half years ago?”

Lisa Nandy.