Corbyn race row as black activists pay less to listen to him speak
JEREMY CORBYN faced a race row last night for making white people pay more than ethnic minorities to hear him deliver a speech.
The dispute erupted over a decision by Labour chiefs to charge black and ethnic minority activists £10 less per ticket than white activists to attend a rally next month.
Tory MPs last night accused Labour of racism and said it was further evidence that the party had abandoned the white working class.
Labour officials defended the decision to make white party members pay £40 to attend the East Midlands Labour gathering in Loughborough on February 17.
In contrast, the charge for black and minority ethnic (BAME) members is £30.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘The basic price of a conference pass is the same for all members but, at the request of our East Midlands Regional Board, the party will subsidise part of the cost of this year’s conference pass for BAME members to encourage attendance and improve representation.’
Conservative vice-chairman James Cleverly said: ‘Discriminating against people based on the colour of their skin is totally wrong and Mr Corbyn must end this practice now.’
Leicestershire Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen added: ‘This is racism.
‘In effect, Labour is levying a tax on the basis of the colour of a person’s skin. It shows their contempt for the white working class.’
Mr Bridgen said the ‘insanity’ of the idea meant that in theory, wealthy Leicester Labour MP Keith Vaz, whose family has Indian roots, would pay less to attend the event than a much less well-off Labour activist.
‘In Corbyn’s Orwellian parallel universe we are all equal, but some are more equal than others,’ he added.