It has been a bad week for the UK opposition Labour Party amid claims of anti-semitism and falling membership numbers.
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Source)
Accusations of Anti-Semitism
Labour's leader, 68-year-old Jeremy Corbyn, has been under fire for failing to act to stamp out anti-semitism within the party. In response to the way the Labour party has handled the issue, a major donor, Sir David Gerrard, who is himself Jewish, and has donated nearly £1.5 million to the party coffers since 2003 has now left the party.
In a statement Sir Garrard said the following;
“As one of the former leading political and financial supporters of the Labour party, of which I was a member for so many decades, I no longer feel any affinity with, or connection to, what it seems to have become, I have watched with dismay and foreboding the manner in which the leadership has, in my view, over the last two years, conducted itself."
“I consider that it has supported and endorsed the most blatant acts of antisemitism. And yet it has failed to expel many of those who have engaged in the grossest derogatory fantasies about Jewish/Zionist conspiracies – and Jewish characterisations and accusations which conjure up the very kind of antisemitic attacks that led to such unbearable consequences for innocent millions in the past. So there no longer exists a party which even pretends to maintain and promote the principles and the integrity of what always was, to me, the Labour party. “On the contrary, I have been witnessing, since Mr Corbyn became leader, a philosophical and a political policy which espouses, in nearly every respect, the very antithesis of the great party under whose reputation, and under whose flag, it now seeks to fly and where so many other Jews were once so proud to stand.”
Sir Gerrard quitting as a party donor came around the same time that a senior party member and strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn resigned. Christine Shawcroft, who was on the disputes panel, was accused of defending Labour Party council candidate Alan Bull after he posted a series of antisemitic posts on social media.
Police have now been urged to investigate after an undercover investigation revealed pro-Corbyn Facebook pages contained violent and anti-semitic comments made by Labour militants. The comments also included calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to be murdered as well as threatening and abusive remarks about moderate Labour Members of Parliament (MPs). At least a dozen senior Labour staff and the shadow chancellor John McDonnell are believed to be members of abusive groups.
Falling Membership Numbers
Labour party membership card (Source)
In response to all the negative headlines surrounding Labour, it appears that more people are now leaving the party than are joining. Over 17000 party members have recently resigned or not renewed their membership. This is in contrast to the huge surge in support for Labour during and after the last general election when membership almost doubled.
According to an article in The Independent newspaper, several Labour MPs have spoken of a net loss of members over recent weeks.
An unnamed MP said
“We knew some of them [last year’s recruits] would lose interest at some point, but it is happening quicker than we thought.”
This fall in support could leave Jeremy Corbyn open to a leadership challenge. A Labour cabinet member has claimed
“Even some members who voted for Jeremy are now saying he lacks the competence to be leader. They are still left-wing, but they are wondering whether he is the right man to lead us into the next election.”
It remains to be seen if the current troubles will have a long-term impact on the electoral chances for Labour and the sustainability of Corbyns leadership.
Sources
Falling membership details from
Hate abuse details from
Donor details from
www.theguardian.com
Originally Published on STEEMNEWS.ONLINE
