Labour MPS must listen to Frank Field

Frank Field has resigned the Labour whip and one can imagine what the pushback will be from the supporters of Jeremy Corbyn: he’s Right-wing, he’s pro-brexit, he is the Tories’ favourite socialist. What this actually adds up to is that he is widely respected and has an open mind. Yes, he was a champion of welfare reform under Tony Blair. Yes, Mr Field agrees with the 52 per cent of his constituents who voted Leave. Nevertheless, if one reads his resignation letter carefully, the word “Brexit” never appears. This is about the future of the Labour Party and other moderate MPS must listen to what he says.

Mr Field makes two alarming statements. First, he accuses Labour’s national leadership of becoming “a force for anti-semitism in British politics”. He goes so far as to say that Britain “fought the Second World War to banish these views” and expresses regret that Labour is “increasingly seen as a racist party”. Indeed, Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi, has accused Mr Corbyn of giving support to “racists, terrorists and dealers of hate who want to kill Jews and remove Israel from the map”. Labour has dismissed the rabbi’s allegation.

Secondly, Mr Field warns that Labour has succumbed to “a culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation”, which has reportedly made life impossible in his local party. Other MPS face deselection; some will say Mr Field merely jumped before he was pushed. Either way, even Labour MPS who don’t share Mr Field’s philosophy have complained that life on the Left is becoming unbearable, that bullies are colonising party structures, or that activists who have never shared Labour’s historic commitment to parliamentary democracy – or even voted Labour before – are on top. Mr Field might have nominated Mr Corbyn in 2015 to spark a debate – an ironic twist – but the hard-left clearly feels the debate is now over. They want to take and keep power on their terms.

Moderates must examine their own consciences. Do they agree with Mr Field? If so, they agree that Labour’s leaders are failing to confront anti-semitism and that the party is being infiltrated by a mob. They must therefore follow Mr Field away from the whip. He has not resigned the party and no one is saying that a parliamentary rebellion has to be permanent or lead to a new party. But some kind of dramatic, collective action is needed to save Labour from Corbynism, and Mr Field has lit a path.

If any moderate is reluctant to join him because he happens to be for Brexit, they need to rethink their priorities: the threat that Mr Corbyn poses to Britain is far greater than leaving the EU. Brexit, whatever one might think of it, is ultimately about restoring democratic processes. One can infer from Mr Field’s resignation letter that Corbynism threatens democracy itself.