Labour accused of ‘shameful’ delays in racism probes
LABOUR has been accused of “shameful” delays in the handling of racism allegations made against party councillors in Scotland.
One of the cases, which involved the former group leader on South Lanarkshire Cuncil, has dragged on for nearly 12 months.
A party source told The Herald on Sunday a key problem is that disciplinary matters are dealt with at a UK level and there is a sizeable backlog.
MSP Anas Sarwar alleged last year that a councillor, in a telephone conversation during the Scottish Labour leadership contest, told him he could not support him because the country was not ready for a “brown, Muslim P**i”. Sarwar did not initially disclose the individual’s identity, but later named him to party bosses as senior South Lanarkshire councillor David McLachlan.
The councillor, who was suspended, said at the time: “I categorically deny these deeply hurtful allegations. I’m stunned and dismayed at the claims that I would say such things and I will defend myself robustly in the party’s investigation and in any actions that follow.”
However, nearly a year after the allegations surfaced, Labour has not reached a conclusion on the case.
Weeks after t he controversy, Dumfries and Galloway councillor Jim Dempster was revealed to have made an Islamophobic comment about the then- Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf.
He told transport officials at a meeting that “no- one would have seen [Yousaf] under his burka”.
Dempster apologised and was suspended, but his disciplinary case also remains on the desk of the UK party 10 months later.
In August, Renfrewshire councillor Jim Sheridan, who has also been an MP, was suspended after making an allegedly anti-Semitic comment.
As the row raged over Labour’s handling of the wider anti-Semitism row, Sheridan wrote: “For all my adult life I have had the utmost respect and empathy for the Jewish community and their historic suffering.
“No longer due to what they and their Blairite plotters are doing to my party and the long-suffering people of Britain who ne e d a radical Labour government.”
The post was deleted, but Sheridan’s case is also still going through the party’s disciplinary process.
It is understood Labour’s national constitutional committee is the body responsible for making final decisions.
By contrast, when a pro-SNP blogger was accused of penning an allegedly anti-Semitic post, he was suspended from the party and expelled within a month.
In May, after a newspaper revealed that Scottish Conservative councillor Stephen Goldsack had been an activist in the BNP, Ruth Davidson’s party expelled him immediately.
One Labour insider said: “These delays are shameful. How can we ever hope to regain the trust of voters if we can’t resolve cases like this quickly and decisively?
“The Scottish leadership needs to tell Corbyn’s team, in no uncertain terms, to fix this mess.”
In recent years, internal reforms have resulted in greater powers being devolved from Labour to the Scottish party, but this did not include disciplinary matters.
Sanctions are the preserve of the UK party, even if the case involves a Scottish member.
Speaking to the BBC recently, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said he is “frustrated by the delays”, adding that the cases should be considered over the next few months.
Yousaf said: “No party serious about tackling racism or Islamophobia could ever dither for this long over such unacceptable behaviour by an elected politician. Jim Dempster admitted to his Islamophobic outburst towards me some 10 months ago. The facts are not in doubt. The case is cut and dry.
“Richard Leonard has already demonstrated he’s not serious about the deeprooted problems in his party by passing the buck to Jeremy Corbyn. But now the UK Labour leader has similarly failed to get a grip.
“It’s deeply disappointing. In fact, it’s a disgrace.”
Scottish Tory MSP Maurice Golden said: “Every political party is at risk of having candidates and elected individuals who engage i n unacceptable language or behaviour. But the key is to act swiftly to show just how serious these issues are.
“Instead, Labour have taken nearly a year to make a decision. It shows just how complacent they are about issues like racism.”