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Jeremy Corbyn to fight suspension from Labour after EHRC antisemitism report comments – as it happened

This article is more than 3 years old
 Updated 
Thu 29 Oct 2020 17.59 EDTFirst published on Thu 29 Oct 2020 05.08 EDT
'Very shocked and disappointed': Jeremy Corbyn reacts to suspension from Labour party – video

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Key events

Summary

The repercussions of today’s events are likely to be felt in the Labour party for a long time to come - here’s a rundown of events as they happened.

  • EHRC report finds Labour responsible for unlawful acts of discrimination and harassment. An investigation into the Labour party by the equalities watchdog found it was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination, and identified what it described as “serious failings in the Labour party leadership in addressing antisemitism and an inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints”.
  • Jeremy Corbyn said he did not accept all of the EHRC’s findings and that the scale of the antisemitism problem in Labour was “dramatically overstated” for political reasons. He also said he was “determined to eliminate all forms of racism and root out the cancer of anti-Semitism” and admitted “Jewish members of our party and the wider community were right to expect us to deal with it, and I regret that it took longer to deliver that change than it should.”
  • Labour given until 10 December to draft an action plan. The party was given until 10 December to draft an action plan to implement the report’s recommendations, which is legally enforceable by the courts if not fulfilled.
  • Keir Starmer said it was a ‘day of shame’ for the Labour party. “The EHRC’s reports are stark and leave no room for equivocation,” Keir Starmer said in his first reaction to the release.
  • Labour suspended Jeremy Corbyn. A Labour party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation.”
  • Corbyn said he would contest ‘political intervention’ to suspend him. “I’ve made absolutely clear that those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour party are wrong,” he said in a statement.
  • Momentum described Corbyn’s suspension as ‘massive attack on the left’. Momentum, which was set set up in 2015 to support the leftwing of the Labour party under the leadership of Corbyn, said the suspension should be immediately lifted in the interests of party unity.
  • Keir Starmer said he ‘fully supports’ the move to suspend Jeremy Corbyn. “I made it clear that we would not support antisemitism or the denial of antisemitism through the suggestion that it is exaggerated or factional and that is why I was disappointed by Jeremy Corbyn’s response and that is why appropriate action has been taken, which I fully support,” he said.
  • Jeremy Corbyn urged Labour supporters to ‘stay in the party’ and fight. In an interview following the removal of the party whip Corbyn called for calm and for members to “make the case” for leftwing values internally.
  • Unite boss Len McCluskey said Corbyn suspension will ‘create chaos’ in Labour party. Corbyn ally McCluskey said the division created by today’s events would leave Labour “doomed to defeat”.
  • Cabinet office minister, Michael Gove, wrote a scathing letter to Keir Starmer, challenging him over his “failure to speak out” on antisemitism during his time in the shadow cabinet, and demanding answers on Corbyn’s future in the Labour party.
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A snap YouGov poll has shown 41% of Labour voters think suspending Jeremy Corbyn was the right decision, with 26% believing it to be wrong.

Across the general population as a whole, 58% think it was the right decision, and 13% think it was wrong.

The poll also showed that 45% of Labour voters think Corbyn was a good leader of the party, compared with 62% who think Keir Starmer is.

SNAP POLL: Was suspending Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour party the right or wrong decision?

ALL BRITONS
Right decision - 58%
Wrong decision - 13%

2019 LABOUR VOTERS
Right decision - 41%
Wrong decision - 26%https://t.co/AOjnWNsLzp pic.twitter.com/WpXGniw2rk

— YouGov (@YouGov) October 29, 2020
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The editor of LabourList, Sienna Rodgers, has said members of Labour’s national executive committee have challenged the general secretary, David Evans, over his decision to suspend Corbyn at an ongoing meeting and are questioning his right to do so.

Legal action is being discussed, she reports, as is the possibility of the NEC overturning the decision.

David Evans confirmed to NEC members that he suspended Corbyn today, but Corbynite NEC members are questioning his right to do that and sharing this screenshot of NEC guidance. They’re talking about legal action/the NEC overturning the decision. pic.twitter.com/iKkYEP7lxF

— Sienna Rodgers (@siennamarla) October 29, 2020
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Jeremy Corbyn speaking earlier today - he has said he will strongly contest his suspension from the Labour party, calling it a “political intervention”.

'Very shocked and disappointed': Jeremy Corbyn reacts to suspension from Labour party – video
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With Momentum rallying behind Corbyn against Starmer, old battles are coming back to life, writes the Guardian’s parliamentary sketch writer, John Crace.

At a time when Labour should be focused on the government’s incompetent handling of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, the party was tearing itself apart again.

Momentum and other Corbyn supporters were treating their man as a saint, martyred in the pursuit of pure socialism, while the rest of the party was desperately trying to find a way to move on from an issue that had festered for years.

And a note from the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot: party discipline following the decision to suspend Corbyn is holding for now, but for how long? Many big Labour names are yet to have their say.

Only a trickle, rather than a flood, of MPs coming out in defence of Corbyn and against Starmer. Dire warnings this morning from David Evans that MPs should not be doing media on this issue and that social media will be closely monitored. Party discipline holding for now...

— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) October 29, 2020
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The Cabinet office minister, Michael Gove, has written a scathing letter to the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, challenging him over his “failure to speak out” on antisemitism during his time in the shadow cabinet.

“It is easy to take a position on antisemitism in hindsight, but you seemingly found it much harder to find the moral character and backbone to do what was right at the time,” he said.

He posed Starmer a series of questions, including why Corbyn had not been expelled and whether he would still be a Labour candidate at the next election.

“Considering one year ago you were campaigning to elect Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, many people will rightly worry about your failure to speak out and challenge leadership at the time.”

All of us should be concerned about what has happened in the Labour Party in recent years. And today’s EHRC report underlines that. There are still important questions for Keir Starmer and so I have written to him seeking answers. pic.twitter.com/IE4qQ6ALMZ

— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) October 29, 2020
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Unite boss Len McCluskey says Corbyn suspension will 'create chaos' in Labour party

The Unite union boss and Corbyn ally Len McCluskey said the decision to suspend the former party leader would “create chaos” within Labour and leave it “doomed to defeat”.

This was a day for our party to move forward as one to defeat the evil of antisemitism. However, the decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn has threatened that opportunity.

The suspension appears to fly in the face of one of the important recommendations made by the EHRC, and which Keir himself said he would implement in full and immediately, which is to remove the leader’s office from party investigations.

But it is also an act of grave injustice which, if not reversed, will create chaos within the party and in doing so compromise Labour’s chances of a general election victory. A split party will be doomed to defeat.

I therefore call upon Keir to work across the party on a fitting and unifying way forward, to unite our party behind the implementation of the EHRC’s important recommendations so that they can be taken forward as speedily as possible, and with the members’ full trust and confidence.

I also appeal to members angered by this suspension not to leave the party but to support moves to find a better way through.

Working people are under fire like never before and ill-served by the worst government of our lifetimes. More than ever, they need a strong, united Labour party to stand up for them, ready to govern.

Earlier, the shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, said the decision was taken “by the Labour party and not by the leader’s office, as per the recommendation in the EHRC report that the leader should not interfere in these decisions”.

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Jewish Voice for Labour, a network for Jewish Labour party members, has launched a petition to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn, saying it was “appalled” by his suspension.

The petition, which does not comment on the EHRC report, said Corbyn’s comments were “not a valid cause” for suspension, calling it an “injustice”. It has gathered 35,000 signatures.

It adds that the “suspension appears to be a pretext to purge Corbyn and the left, and delegitimise left wing politics more broadly”.

In a tweet, JVR said: “We are appalled that Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour Party and the whip withdrawn. He has a proud record of fighting all forms of racism and antisemitism.

“This is an attack both on Jeremy and on the majority of party members. Do not leave, organise, fight back.”

We are appalled that Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour Party and the whip withdrawn. He has a proud record of fighting all forms of racism and antisemitism. This is an attack both on Jeremy and on the majority of party members. Do not leave, organise, fight back

— JewishVoiceForLabour (@JVoiceLabour) October 29, 2020
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The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, said Jeremy Corbyn would have the chance to put forward “his side of the story” during the investigation into his comments about antisemitism following his suspension from the party.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, she said:

The party has taken the decision to suspend Jeremy and it is important to note that that is a decision taken by the Labour party and not by the leader’s office, as per the recommendation in the EHRC report that the leader should not interfere in these decisions.

What will then happen is that Jeremy will be investigated, the circumstances of his suspension will be investigated, the comments that were made, and he will be given an opportunity as part of that process to put forward his side of the story.

There is no suggestion of guilt before a decision is made but that will be investigated robustly and as transparently as possible.

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A powerful front page for tomorrow’s edition of the Jewish News.

The Jewish News responds to the EHRC report on Labour antisemitism and Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension in its 30 October front page. Photograph: Jewish News
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