Senior MP quits over Corbyn row
● Frank Field says Labour has become a ‘force for anti-semitism’
Labour veteran Frank Field warned Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had become a “force for antisemitism” as he yesterday resigned the party whip.
Field, who has served as the MP for Birkenhead for almost 40 years, said Labour was “increasingly seen as a racist party”.
He also raised concerns in an explosive letter about the “thuggish conduct” and “bullying” used by some Labour members.
Veteran MP Frank Field has resigned the Labour whip at Westminster, accusing the leadership of turning the party into a “force for antisemitism”.
Mr Field, who has represented Birkenhead for almost 40 years, said in a letter to party chief whip Nick Brown that he could no longer serve the party as Jeremy Corbyn was overseeing an “erosion of our core values”.
The former minister for welfare reform, who was charged by Tony Blair to reform state benefits by “thinking the unthinkable”, also rounded on his local party.
Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said it was a “serious loss to the party” and a “major wake-up call”.
The resignation comes with a damaging, months-long row over Mr Corbyn’s handling of
anti-semitism claims showing no sign of abating. The latest revelations centre around comments from Mr Corbyn himself, before becoming Labour leader, in which he
said ‘Zionists’ “don’t understand English irony”.
The remarks prompted a furious response from the former chief rabbi of the UK Lord Sacks, who called
Mr Corbyn an anti-semite.
In a one-page letter Mr Field said: “Britain fought the Second World War to banish these views from our politics, but that superhuman effort and success is now under huge and sustained internal attack. The leadership is doing nothing substantive to address this erosion of our core values.
“It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party. This issue alone compels me to resign the whip.”
Mr Field also raised concern about the “thuggish conduct” of some members in his local party and the lack of action against them. He said the party’s actions served to “legitimise appalling levels of bullying” and fostered “a culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation”.
Mr Field has faced criticism from party members for his voting record on Brexit legislation. Earlier this year he was one of four Labour MPS who voted with the Government to prevent Britain joining a posteu customs union, on the grounds that working-class voters “gave politicians a clear instruction to take the country out of the EU”. It is understood he was facing a deselection bid by local activists.
Mr Field said he intends to remainanmpandamemberof the Labour party. He said that “providence willing” he would stand at the next election.