Watson: Letting Livingstone stay in Labour party shames us all
LABOUR’S deputy leader Tom Watson today ramped up pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to act over the party’s decision not to expel Ken Livingstone by saying it “shames us all”.
He said the ruling on the former Mayor of London’s remarks about Adolf Hi t l e r and Zionism failed Labour’s entire membership.
His comment is the most senior condemnation of the decision so far, and follows London mayor Sadiq Khan saying he was “deeply disappointed”.
Mr Watson said: “I find it incomprehensible that our elected lay members on the disciplinary panel found Ken Livingstone guilty of such serious charges and then concluded he can remain a member of the Labour Party.”
The deputy leader added: “When I read t h e wo rd s of Chief Rabbi [Ephraim] Mirvis, who says that ‘the Labour Party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its members and it has failed all those who believe in zero-tolerance of anti-Semitism’, I can’t disagree with him.
“I wish I could, but I can’t. I am ashamed that we have allowed Mr Livingstone to cause such distress.”
Sadiq Khan today said he was “deeply disappointed”, chastising his party for failing to take a “zero tolerance” approach to the veteran Left-winger.
His comments to the Standard come as some furious Labour members chopped up their membership cards in protest at the party’s decision.
Mr Khan said it was Labour’s responsibility to lead by example and oppose anti-Semitism wherever it found it.
The Labour Party said last night it will “make no further comment on the mat- ter”. Despite calls for the ex-Labour mayor to be stripped of his membership for remarks he made in 2016 linking Hitler to Zionism, an internal Labour disciplinary panel decided to prolong his current suspension for a year after finding him guilty of breaching party rules.
A source close to the proceedings told the Standard Mr Livingstone was “lawyered up so significantly” panel members felt they “couldn’t’ fight” for expulsion over fears it would be taken to judicial review.
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, chair of the APPG on British Jews, said today: “For people to cut their membership cards up and say this isn’t their party any more is a big deal.”
“People will leave over this. I’ve had Jewish constituents already telling me they won’t be voting Labour as long as Ken Livingstone is in [the party].”
A Labour member in Jeremy Corbyn constituency of Islington North pictured her card cut up in her hand on Twitter and added: “OK Labour. You can keep Ken... I’m done. Finally done.”