‘Shameful’ Corbyn faces party mutiny
Labour leader’s enemies go on the attack over Brexit, anti-semitism and Campbell’s expulsion
JEREMY CORBYN last night faced a mutiny from his party as a series of crises threatened to engulf his leadership.
In a direct challenge to his authority, Labour grandees including former Cabinet ministers publicly dared Mr Corbyn to expel them after they admitted voting for other parties in the European elections.
Their act of defiance came after Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications director, was thrown out of the party for voting Liberal Democrat in the poll, in which Labour suffered its worst result in a century.
In another blow, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) opened an investigation into Labour’s handling of anti-semitism complaints, only the second time a political party has faced such an inquiry, the British National Party being the other.
Mr Corbyn was already under pressure for his policy on Brexit. Having moved towards backing a second referendum, he was warned by MPS in Labour’s northern heartlands that there would be “zero” chance of winning a general election if he did so.
Last night, several senior Labour figures disclosed that they, like Mr Campbell, had voted for other parties.
Anji Hunter, Mr Blair’s director of government relations, confirmed she had backed the Lib Dems, as did Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, who blamed the “hopeless incoherence” of Mr Corbyn’s position on Brexit. Bob Ainsworth, the former defence secretary, said he, too, had not voted Labour, while Fiona Mactaggart, a former Home Office minister, said it was “time for all of us to declare, ‘I am Spartacus’”. Mr Corbyn must now decide whether to expel the senior party figures and risk similar admissions from more Labour members, or to climb down over Mr Campbell’s exclusion.
Mr Corbyn could also see his antiracism credentials seriously undermined by the EHRC investigation.
Dame Margaret Hodge MP said that yesterday was “one of the most depressing days in my 56 years as a member”, adding: “Corbyn has failed from day one to take this issue seriously. The consequence is a full statutory investigation – he should hang his head in shame.”
The inquiry, which will seek to uncover whether Labour has “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised” Jews, was described as a source of “utter shame” by Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, who said his repeated warnings had gone unheeded.
Mr Watson indicated he would blow the whistle on the party’s anti-semitism scandal. An ally of the deputy leader said Mr Watson would be “completely honest” if approached by the watchdog, adding: “Tom will fully outline the concerns he has raised ... and the problems as he sees them.” Mr Corbyn refused to comment when asked for his views on the investigation last night.
The EHRC will assess whether Labour has handled complaints in compliance with the law, if its rulebook and processes are fit for purpose, and if sanctions have been appropriately applied. Should it find wrongdoing, the EHRC has the power to force the party to proceed with a binding action plan or drag it into court if it fails to comply.
Labour said it would “cooperate fully” but strongly rejected “any suggestion the party does not handle antisemitism complaints fairly and robustly”.
JEREMY CORBYN found himself fighting his own MPS on multiple fronts yesterday after presiding over Labour’s worst election result in a century.
The party leader had hoped to avoid a rebellion over his Brexit policy by moving closer towards backing a second referendum, only to come under hostile fire from Lisa Nandy, who represents Leave-backing Wigan.
She used a breakfast time BBC interview to tell her leader there was “absolutely zero chance” of a future Labour government if he put his weight behind another referendum, which would be “the final breach of trust with the working-class electorate”.
As Mr Corbyn’s office considered its response, the Equality and Human Rights Commission dropped the bombshell that it had opened a formal investigation into allegations of antisemitism in the party.
The third blow – just half an hour later – was entirely self-inflicted.
Shortly before 12.30pm, Labour announced that Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, had been thrown out of the party for voting Lib Dem in the European elections.
Senior Labour figures last night demanded Mr Campbell be reinstated with immediate effect, and Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, admitted he had also voted Lib Dem, as a “one-off”. “Labour should immediately withdraw its expulsion of Alastair,” he added.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the former lord chancellor and adviser to Labour’s complaints team, said he “completely condemned” the decision.
Labour MPS accused Mr Corbyn of double standards. Describing Labour’s priorities as “all wrong”, Dame Margaret Hodge, the veteran Jewish MP, said: “It takes five days for Labour to expel Campbell but almost three years to expel anti-semite Jackie Walker.”
She also highlighted the case of Ken Livingstone, who eventually quit the party two years after he was originally suspended for suggesting that Hitler was an early advocate of Zionism.
Others pointed to Kelvin Hopkins, the suspended MP, whose hearing has been delayed three times since he was placed under investigation nearly two years ago. He had been accused by an activist of sexual harassment. He denies the claims.
Mr Campbell said he would appeal against his expulsion because he had been trying to make Labour “see sense” over Brexit. He also pointed out that senior Labour officials had advocated voting against the party in the past.
They include Andrew Fisher, Mr Corbyn’s senior policy adviser, who in 2015 encouraged supporters to back the fringe party Class War, and who was later promoted by Mr Corbyn, rather than being expelled.
Speaking to reporters outside his home in north London, Mr Campbell also pointed out that in 2012, Mr Corbyn had congratulated George Galloway on beating a Labour candidate in the Bradford West by-election. He added that during his time in Downing Street, Mr Blair had resisted pressure to expel Mr Corbyn for repeatedly voting against the Labour whip, due to the belief that “you’ve got to have dissenting voices around”.
Mr Campbell said: “I’m still in the Labour Party as far as I’m concerned. I know there are an awful lot of MPS and councillors and peers who did not vote for Labour in the European elections and they did it for the same reasons I did – to get the Labour Party to see sense on the single most important issue facing the country.
“You can interpret the rules in all sorts of different ways, but one thing I know is I’m not going to leave the party just because some random email comes in telling me that I’ve been expelled.”
Momentum, the grassroots organisation set up to support Mr Corbyn, said: “Campbell’s ‘sexed-up’ dossier started the Iraq war and left a million dead. Being kicked out of the party is the least he deserves.”
Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said Mr Campbell was “expelled quicker than a man who threatened to kill me, quicker than a man in my [local party] who denied the Holocaust, both are only still suspended”.
While the Labour rule book states that party members cannot campaign for or support other political parties, insiders pointed out that Mr Campbell had not declared his intentions until after the polls had closed.
Bob Ainsworth, the former defence secretary, declared that he had also voted for another party.
Mike Creighton, Labour’s former director of risk management, said: “If [Campbell] were to take the Labour Party to court over this decision, he would almost certainly win.”
Last night, Mark Drakeford, the Welsh Labour leader, fuelled speculation that Mr Corbyn was poised to support a People’s Vote.
He told The Mirror: “He continues to get advice from a variety of different sources. I think the UK position is still evolving. We will hear more about it, I believe, over this week.”