John McDonnell claims Labour’s hard left being intimidated by Starmer
FORMER SHADOW chancellor John McDonnell has claimed that members of the Labour left have been “intimidated” by Sir Keir Starmer’s crackdown on the party’s alleged antisemitism-deniers.
Calling for a pre-conference summit with Sir Keir, Mr McDonnell also accused the leadership of expelling Jewish members of the pro-Corbyn Jewish Voice for Labour.
This is the latest salvo in an escalating row over purge of hard-left activists following the Equality and Human Right Commission’s report into antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
The issue threatens to overshadow this weekend’s Labour conference in Brighton, with the hard left planning a series of protest rallies and votes.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr McDonnell said members on the left of the party had been made to feel “unwelcome” and demanded a summit to air “grievances” ahead of party conference.
In July, Labour’s rule National Executive proscribed three groups for allegedly downplaying the scale of Labour’s antisemitism problem: Labour Against the Witch Hunt, Labour in Exile Network and Resist.
Individual members supportive of these organisations are also being expelled. However, Mr McDonnell said the process was having unintended consequences.
He said: “From the evidence Jewish Voice for Labour have produced, key members of their executive committee are having disciplinary action taken against them. I found it ironic to say the least that in our campaign against antisemitism we are taking action against Jewish people.
“What I am saying to the Labour Party is you have to be very careful about this. I think it’s really dangerous.” While JVL has not been banned by Labour, some of its members are facing disciplinary action, accused of supporting groups which have now been proscribed.
Luke Akehurst, who sits on Labour’s NEC, said any disciplinary action was based on a member’s actions, not their background.
He said: “People need to get real. We are trying to get rid of antisemites or people who apologise for or cover up for antisemitism. The Labour Party’s disciplinary process isn’t looking a people’s identity, it is looking at their behaviour, and the damage they are causing to the party’s relations with the wider Jewish community and to its reputation.” The rumbling row over expulsions is set to erupt at Labour conference, with the Unite union and some other left wing delegates attempting to force a vote on the first day to challenge the appointment of the party’s general secretary.
David Evans is Labour’s most senior official and oversees the disciplinary process. Mr McDonnell said he wanted Sir Keir and Mr Evans to convene a summit to defuse the row with the party’s leftist factions. He said: “The best thing that Keir and David Evans can do is get people round the table, accept there are grievances that have to be addressed.”