Labour’s anti-semitism ‘failure’ is humiliating, peers tell Corbyn
JEREMY CORBYN’S “ongoing failure to remove anti-semites” from Labour is “embarrassing” and “nothing short of humiliating”, the party’s peers have told him.
Lord Harris of Haringey, who leads Labour in the House of Lords, said it was a “matter of great shame” that the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had launched a probe.
The news came as the leader of Scottish Labour admitted his party has been unable to cope with a flood of anti-semitism and racism complaints.
Richard Leonard said there was a “bit of a resource issue” because of the large number of complaints, and expressed his frustration at the delay in resolving them.
The 186-strong Labour peers group, which includes ex-ministers, is operationally independent of the party.
In the 500-word letter Lord Harris said Labour’s peers wanted “to put on record our alarm at what is frankly an embarrassing and hugely damaging mess caused by the ongoing failure to remove anti-semites from our Party. This failure diminishes the moral authority of the Labour Party, undermines our whole ethos and calls into question our wider commitment to anti-racism.”
The letter continued: “I understand that the last time the EHRC took action against a political party was when they investigated the BNP over its ‘whitesonly’ membership policy.”
Lord Harris said: “Labour Peers – and I would suggest the vast majority of our MPS – have lost confidence in the processes
‘Wish to put on record our alarm at what is frankly an embarrassing and hugely damaging mess’
and in the way that they have apparently been operating.”
He said that peers were not criticising party staff, adding: “Our concern is not with them but with a political failure of leadership.” A Labour spokesman said: “Jeremy Corbyn has made clear that he is a militant opponent of anti-semitism and that rooting it out of our party is an absolute priority. The Labour Party takes all complaints of anti-semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to challenging and campaigning against it in all its forms.”
In a speech to the Scottish Labour conference, Mr Corbyn called on the party to stop the infighting.
Separately, a Labour source confirmed that Sean Mccallum, the party’s candidate to be mayor of Mansfield, has been suspended pending investigation into alleged anti-semitism. A spokesman said: “All complaints about anti-semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn faces a rebellion in his shadow cabinet as 10 frontbenchers have warned they could quit if Labour backs plans for a second referendum.
The group of shadow ministers, who largely represent Leave-supporting seats, have expressed concerns over the party’s recent shift in policy, a senior source told The Daily Telegraph.
Labour plans to whip its MPS to back an amendment by Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, which would effectively lend support to Theresa May’s deal only if the country is then allowed to vote on it in a referendum. The shadow ministers are demanding a free vote on the amendment.