Labour’s antisemitism row proves the party should split

Labour is a broad church that should welcome differences of opinion. Debate within the party is healthy, as long as we remain united by the goal of a fairer, more equal society. At least that was my understanding – until recent events. I am now genuinely considering a once-unthinkable option: should the factions within Labour call it a day and go their separate ways?

Accusations of antisemitism have haunted Labour for years. A majority of party members are horrified by the problem, but a select few have sickeningly attempted to use what should be a time of reflection to their advantage. Some on the right of the party have used Jeremy Corbyn as a scapegoat, failing to acknowledge that problems of discrimination cannot be the fault of a single person. The Labour Party is structurally flawed, and this has led to antisemites becoming comfortable enough to openly express their toxic opinions within Labour spaces. We need serious change, not politically-motivated faux outrage.

The left of the party is no less to blame. By denying accusations of antisemitism, they erase the struggles of Jewish Labour members. I don’t believe that Corbyn is antisemitic, although his past behaviour is problematic and needs addressing. We must feel free within Labour to apologise for and correct our past behaviour – otherwise, what is the point of confronting it at all? Both the left and right of the party must learn that criticism of the behaviour of certain individuals is not the same as dismissing an entire wing of the party.

The behaviour of a few individuals should not and does not condemn the Labour Party as a whole. However, the treatment of this problem says a lot about the state of Labour. It is one thing to disagree on issues like the Iraq War or nationalisation; it is quite another to fall out over a simple issue of intolerance. If we can’t unite over something as fundamentally despicable as discrimination, it’s time for the left and right of Labour to part ways. If we can’t act on inequality within our own party, how can we be trusted to run a fair and equal country?

In July last year, Anne Marie Morris, the Conservative MP for Newton Abbot, used the term “n***** in the woodpile” on a parliamentary panel. Despite her disgusting behaviour, Morris had the party whip restored a few months later and continues to serve as an MP. Imagine the party-wide, faction-intensifying outrage if a Labour MP was even accused of such an offence. To its detriment, left-wing politics is usually far more self-critical than its opposition. The right tends to rally together regardless of the issue, while the left picks itself apart. Obviously, calling out racism is vital for the health of any party.

Instead of treating such incidents as an excuse for a witch-hunt against those we disagree with, we should seek to treat intolerant behaviour within the party as a learning experience for us all. There is nothing wrong with self-criticism; there is a lot wrong with cutting off your party’s nose to spite your face.

It is shocking to think that after 100 years of disagreement within the party, from Ramsay MacDonald to Tony Blair, an issue as clearly unacceptable as antisemitism should signal the end of any reasonable debate. The party’s factions are so divided that they now see each other as the enemy, rather than as allies. In its current form, the Labour Party is too fractured to continue. Given the stubbornness of its factions, a split seems inevitable – and for the better of all involved.