Shaming of Corbyn sparks Labour civil war
Former leader challenges Starmer after suspension over anti-semitism report
JEREMY CORBYN vowed to fight his suspension from Labour last night as his allies accused Sir Keir Starmer of “inciting war”.
The former party leader mobilised his supporters against his successor as MPS, unions and members loyal to him demanded his reinstatement and reopened the party’s anti-semitism row.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission found Labour guilty of unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination as a result of “inexcusable” failures to tackle anti-semitism under Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
Mr Corbyn’s party membership was suspended and the whip removed by Labour’s general secretary after the former leader claimed the scale of antiSemitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”, and later refused to retract his statement.
Len Mccluskey, a Corbyn ally and the leader of the Unite union, Labour’s biggest financial backer, was among those demanding the decision be reversed, saying it would “cause chaos” and split the party, leaving it “doomed to defeat”.
Some union figures were last night discussing the possibility of forming a breakaway party.
Mr Corbyn became the first serving or former Labour leader to lose the whip since Ramsay Macdonald in 1931 on what Sir Keir described as a “day of shame” for the party.
Labour moderates hailed the decision as a watershed moment for Sir Keir, likening it to both Neil Kinnock’s expulsion of the Militant Tendency and Tony Blair’s decision to rewrite Clause IV in the party’s constitution.
But Mr Corbyn made clear he would not go down without a fight, and Sir Keir faces a revolt on multiple fronts that will test his authority to the limit in the coming months. Last night Mr Corbyn held a crisis meeting with former aides Seumas Milne and Karie Murphy, as well as John Mcdonnell, the former shadow chancellor, and representatives of Unite and the Momentum activist group to decide on their next move.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, a senior Corbyn ally warned Sir Keir he was now facing a “critical 24-hour period” in which to change course.
“This was a disastrous miscalculation,” the source said. “It could now escalate. He doesn’t understand the scale of what is about to happen and it’s going to get very difficult for him.
“Jeremy has an army behind him and a lot of legal funding.”
Mr Corbyn has amassed a war chest of £350,000 which he could use to take legal action against the party. The fund was originally created to defend him from a possible libel action by anti-semitism whistle-blowers, but attracted hundreds of new donations from supporters yesterday.
Mr Corbyn still wields enough influence to cause serious problems for Sir Keir. The party’s membership swelled from 193,000 under Ed Miliband to more than 560,000 under Mr Corbyn.
If members leave en masse, the loss of membership f ees would make Labour increasingly reliant on its union backers, many of whom were supporters of Corbynism.
The equalities watchdog served Labour with an unlawful act notice and gave it until Dec 10 to draft an action plan to implement the report’s recommendations. The notice is enforceable by the courts if not fulfilled.
The EHRC found Labour had broken the law in relation to harassment, political interference and inadequate training for staff handling anti- Semitism complaints. The lapses “appeared to be a result of a lack of willingness to tackle anti-semitism rather than an inability to do so”, it said. It found 23 instances of Mr Corbyn’s office exerting influence over decisions on whether members should be suspended or investigated, including one complaint made directly against Mr Corbyn.
The inquiry also found that antiSemitic comments by Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor, and Pam Bromley, a councillor in Rossendale, Lancashire, amounted to harassment of Jewish members under law, and this was “only the tip of the iceberg”. The watchdog said there had been “serious failings” in party leadership, with Alasdair Henderson, the lead investigator, describing Mr Corbyn as “ultimately accountable for what happened”.
Sir Keir said the findings were “hard to read and it is a day of shame for the Labour Party”. He said: “We have failed Jewish people, our members, our supporters and the British public, and so on behalf of the Labour Party, I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused.”
Mr Corbyn rejected some of the findings of the EHRC’S 16-month inquiry, saying it was “undeniable that a false impression has been created of the number of members accused of antiSemitism”. He claimed that the extent of anti-semitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents i nside and outside the party”. Moments later, Sir Keir said that anyone who said the report was “exaggerated or a factional attack” was “part of the problem” and “should be nowhere near the Labour Party”.
David Evans, Labour’s general secretary, is understood to have taken the
final decision to suspend Mr Corbyn pending investigation.
At a meeting of Labour’s National Executive Committee last night, Leftwing members demanded that Mr Evans set out the reason for Mr Corbyn’s suspension. They are also believed to have questioned his authority to make the decision, suggesting they could attempt to overturn it.
Sir Keir said he was “disappointed” by Mr Corbyn and that “appropriate action” had been taken, although he stressed that he would not interfere with the investigation.
Mr Corbyn reacted by saying his suspension had been a “political intervention” and promised to appeal. Implying Sir Keir had ordered the move, rather than leaving it to the party’s governance unit, Mr Corbyn challenged the timing, telling reporters that the speed of his suspension “seems odd”. He added: “Quite clearly a decision was made in a very quick way. I just say ‘hang on a minute, let’s all keep a bit calmer, let’s think again about the whole issue.’”
Allies of Mr Corbyn accused Sir Keir of personal involvement and “inciting war” against the hard-left.
John Mcdonnell, the former shadow chancellor, called the decision “profoundly wrong”, while the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPS warned it would now work “tirelessly” for Mr Corbyn’s reinstatement.
In a clear warning shot, Momentum, the campaign group which helped propel Mr Corbyn to power in 2015, described the suspension as a “massive attack on the Left” and urged supporters to stay and fight.
Five of Labour’s biggest backers remain loyal to Mr Corbyn – Unite, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), the Fire Brigades Union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU). Between them they have around 1.6 million members.
Two weeks ago Unite voted to cut its affiliation fee by 10 per cent, and BFAWU was reported to be considering following suit even before yesterday.
Dave Ward, the general secretary of the CWU, accused Sir Keir of personally making a “political decision” to suspend Mr Corbyn, adding: “It’s fundamentally wrong and needs to change.”
The Jewish Labour Movement said blame for the “sordid, disgraceful chapter” in the party’s history “lies firmly with those who held positions of leadership”.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the report was a “historic nadir for the Labour Party”.