Long-Bailey fails in bid for Labour Jewish vote
‘Dominated by anti-Semitism’
JEWISH Labour supporters have overwhelmingly rejected Corbynite leadership hopeful Rebecca Long-Bailey.
She won just 1.4 per cent of votes cast by members of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), which endorsed Lisa Nandy in her bid for the party leadership.
It came after an event on Thursday at which all four candidates apologised to Jewish members over Labour’s handling of anti-Semitism.
Miss Nandy, the MP for Wigan, said she was ‘honoured’ to get the affiliate group’s official nomination.
She received 51 per cent of members’ votes, with Sir Keir Starmer second on 45 per cent and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry on 1.9 per cent.
During the hustings at a synagogue in North London, the candidates were pressed on their record on and ideas to tackle anti-Semitism in the party.
Labour’s handling of the issue has dominated the tenure of Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing down as leader after the party’s defeat in December’s election. All candidates committed to implementing the recommendations of an ongoing inquiry into the issue by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The watchdog launched the probe into whether the party had ‘unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish’ in May last year.
Miss Thornberry now faces a battle to stay in the contest by securing her place on the members’ ballot, which is due to start next week.
Ahead of a midnight deadline last night, she still needed endorsements from a further three local party branches to qualify for the final stage.
Her leadership rivals have already guaranteed their places on the ballot through nominations from unions and affiliate groups. The JLM is one of the largest of such groups with the power to nominate leadership candidates.
Sir Keir, regarded as the frontrunner in the contest, received a further boost yesterday by winning the backing of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association.
The winner of the leadership race will be announced on April 4.