There is no place for such venom in our party

Jeremy Corbyn should use his renewed authority to banish the abuse that has disfigured Labour

So what happens now? With the leadership election over, our party may feel divided, but we are determined not to split. There’s a hard debate ahead about how we hold together and rebuild support in the country. But whatever plan Jeremy Corbyn sets out to unite the Labour Party now he has been re-elected, it must include much stronger action against abuse.

For over a century our party has led the way in fighting for the underdog, standing up against intimidation and oppression, be it by the powerful or by the mob. I want it to lead the way again now, challenging the new problem of online abuse that is increasing across the country and the world. But first we need to get our own house in order.

A year ago, at Labour women’s conference, I warned about rising online abuse. Teenagers bullied online. Teachers, harassed by parents and pupils on social media. Rising anti-semitism and islamophobia. Women targeted with rape threats and misogynistic abuse.

The worst I get as a Labour MP is usually from the far Right. Recent grim tweets include an Australian who wants to behead me, and a Trump supporter who hates refugees.

But no matter where it is from, abuse and intimidation entrench prejudice, silence debate and poison democracy. Even a small minority can drag everyone else down.

It’s why we were right to condemn Nigel Farage’s vile referendum poster demonising refugees. Right to call out the Tories for playing with racism in their campaign against Sadiq Khan. And it is why I and others set up the cross party Reclaim the Internet campaign against bullying, hate crimes and abuse on social media. But I also warned last year that we had to stem abuse from a minority within our own party, too. And that didn’t happen.

A report to the party’s National Executive Committee this summer listed cases reported to them of party members publicly calling each other scum, dyke, zio, paki. (I cannot believe I have just written that sentence.) Labour Party staff have been briefed against for trying to tackle abuse. Jewish women MPs have been threatened online.

Local party meetings have had to be suspended after aggressive encounters. Journalists have been heckled for doing their jobs. And at Labour women’s conference this year, councillors, youth representatives and members talked about the online harassment they had endured.

Frankly, I don’t care where in the party this kind of abuse comes from, it has to stop. We cannot allow a minority within our party to create a climate of hostility for all. Good people must not be driven away or silenced. We should defend our values together.

Last week – almost a year after I first called for it – the National Executive Committee unanimously passed new rules that Tom Watson and I proposed on online abuse. Our party membership now includes a pledge to stand against abuse of all forms, and our rules make clear that party debate must be comradely, based on dignity and respect for all.

It’s a start. Next there should be guidance on enforcement. Some people say stupid things in the heat of the moment that they swiftly regret and withdraw. But repeated abuse, harassment or racism must mean expulsion.

It’s time for strong leadership on this. Jeremy Corbyn has rightly condemned abuse many times. He’s also been targeted by it. But when you are the leader of a party with a problem, especially when you have just been re-elected, you should use your authority to deliver action, not just words.

So I’m calling on Jeremy and John McDonnell this week to back party staff when they try to tackle abuse. To insist on higher standards and proper enforcement – and to put resources into it to make it happen. To follow the suggestions from members yesterday to use the Labour Party and the leader’s social media accounts to take on the trolls and make it clear that their language is unacceptable. To make it clear they personally oppose the Facebook pages attacking Labour’s elected representatives or organising deselection campaigns.

They and all MPs should challenge their supporters, as well as their opponents, who try to use vitriol to silence others.

One Labour member asked me why I was calling on Jeremy to do all of this. Because he is the leader. And because he can. Don’t just leave it to me to propose new party rules – take a lead. Don’t just wait for Labour women’s conference to insist on more action – get on and sort it out.

We joined Labour because we share common values. Underpinning our belief in equality, social justice and democracy is respect for our common humanity. Unless we reflect those values in the way we treat each other, we cannot credibly stand up for them across the country.

Let’s sort this fast and get back to our real job – standing up for people across Britain who need Labour’s support.

Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. We can’t ignore this any longer.