Corbyn’s plan for ally to rule on Labour’s anti-semitism cases derided as a ‘cop-out’
JEREMY CORBYN’S new proposals for dealing with anti-semitism were condemned as a “cop-out” by Labour MPS last night, as the party confirmed it had only expelled eight members in the past six months.
In an attempt to end a long-running row, Mr Corbyn has unveiled plans which hand one of his closest allies a role in disciplining members accused of anti-jewish racism.
Under his proposals, Jennie Formby, Labour’s general secretary, would join a special panel to rule on serious cases.
The panel would be made up of officers from the National Executive Committee (NEC), Labour’s governing body, who would have the power to expel or suspend those in breach of party rules.
Mr Corbyn outlined his proposals at an “emergency” meeting of the shadow cabinet. His alternative was to hand additional sanction powers to the NEC, which currently refers the most serious cases to a more powerful body.
However, a senior Labour insider last night told The Daily Telegraph that a number of shadow cabinet ministers were “unhappy” with the proposals.
Their concerns were echoed by some Labour MPS, who argued that the plans fell far short of their demands for a completely independent process.
One said: “It’s a complete cop-out. It’s yet more words and no action. It confirms that he’s not prepared to have zero tolerance of anti-semitism.”
Lord Falconer, Labour’s former justice secretary, said: “Both options involve concentrating power to expel in a small group of officers’ hands.
“[That] does not feel remotely independent or that there are any checks on what the leadership are doing.”
The party revealed it had received 625 complaints of anti-semitism in the past six months. Eight members were expelled, up by just one on the same period last year. A total of 116 members were suspended pending investigation between January and June, whilst 146 complaints are still being processed.
Miriam Mirwitch, the chair of Young Labour, said: “Is it any wonder that we have so little faith in Labour Party antisemitism and sexual harassment complaints handling procedures?”
However, a Labour spokesman said that the data demonstrated the party’s “commitment to transparency”.
Mr Corbyn said the time taken to deal with some cases had not been “good enough”. He said: “Labour is not an anti-semitic party. But one antisemite is always one too many.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has refused to confirm if he would vote Labour at the next General Election. He told BBC Newsnight that the antisemitism crisis was “a real problem for me” and that he hopes the party “deals with it”.