Onwards and upwards for Labour

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The row over antisemitism is ongoing and continues to make front pages. Yesterday LabourList published Labour Against Antisemitism’s open letter, in which signatories vow not to “stand by and wait for a more convenient time for the party leadership to deal with this problem”, as well as a piece by a Jewish Voice for Labour committee member.

Joseph Finlay argues we must stand with Jeremy Corbyn as “the socialist Labour labour leader the country desperately needs as Prime Minister” but also makes a number of suggestions for rebuilding trust – including synagogue visits, dialogue with Jewish communities, implementation of the Chakrabarti report’s recommendations and educational resources on the history of antisemitism.

Those concerned about antisemitism in the party will keep putting forward constructive proposals, and hopefully an increasing number of activists and meeting-goers will reflect on how we can call out racism and protect safe spaces for Jewish members.

In the meantime, the short campaign for local elections kicks off this week. As Stephen Bush notes in his assessment of what would make a good night for Labour on May 3rd, the party can expect to do well in the areas coming up but Ed Miliband already made significant gains there in 2014. Perhaps we’ll gain further insight as shadow local government secretary and party campaigns chair Andrew Gwynne talks to Conor Pope at a Progress event tonight.

As always, let’s keep this one fact in mind: the Labour Party must win power to effect real change.

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