Labour figures across party step up efforts to root out antisemitism

Figures from across Labour are redoubling their efforts to root out antisemitism from the party. Tom Watson has told colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party this afternoon that his team plans to log and monitor all antisemitism complaints. Appearing on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, he revealed that 50 cases were passed on to him by Labour MPs during the week, and called for Jeremy Corbyn to “take a personal lead on examining those cases”. Now the deputy leader has pledged to act as an extra safeguard, making sure that action is taken when MPs and peers raise antisemitism complaints.

Following expressions of frustration over allegations of antisemitism not being dealt with “in an adequate and timely manner”, Watson says he requested that the PLP be able to refer cases and receive updates from a named staff member. “Jennie Formby was very clear that she sees it as her responsibility to be your point of contact,” read the email he sent to MPs and peers today. Watson has therefore given colleagues the Labour general secretary’s contact details and informed them that he “would like to see any issue or complaint” raised with her. “From now on my team will be logging and monitoring all complaints. I will ensure that this information is shared with… Jeremy Corbyn, the shadow cabinet and colleagues on the national executive committee.”

Meanwhile, Momentum chair and co-founder Jon Lansman has questioned the motivations of Skwawkbox, a website known to be well-briefed by the Labour leadership. “Why does @skwawkbox seek to understate the problem?” the Jeremy Corbyn ally asked. In accordance with the figures recently released by Formby, he pointed out that “the most serious cases” have not yet been decided by the national constitutional committee (NCC) and a “proactive approach” would increase the number of cases still. The NEC member continued: “Just last Friday we referred 19 out of 35 cases reviews to the NCC almost all with a strong recommendation for expulsion.”

1/2 Why does @skwawkbox seek to understate the problem? Just 61 people have gone following disciplinary action but the most serious cases are those awaiting hearings at the NCC and a proactive approach would yield many more cases than waiting for others to refer them

— Jon Lansman (@jonlansman) February 25, 2019

Lansman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that there are now a “much larger number of people with hardcore antisemitic opinion” in the Labour Party, and they are “polluting the atmosphere” in some local meetings and particularly online. He later clarified via a tweet that there are “perhaps a few hundred” of these “hardcore antisemites” out of Labour’s half-a-million strong membership. But it would seem that, although the Momentum chief wants to make clear that the antisemitism problem comes from a very small number of members, he is becoming increasingly outspoken on the need to handle it better – even calling out fellow Corbyn allies.