Former UK Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on Tuesday (November 17th) on Twitter that he was reinstated within the opposition formation. He was suspended in October for downplaying the findings of an explosive report on anti-Semitism in the ranks of the party under his leadership (2015 – 2020).
Shaken for years by repeated incidents and a plethora of resignations, Labor had been investigated by an independent body, the Committee for Equality and Human Rights (EHRC). This had concluded at the end of October to failures “Inexcusable” resulting from “Lack of will to tackle anti-Semitism”. Corbyn’s team had indeed, according to this report, played down or ignored complaints from Jewish Labor after a deluge of anti-Semitic talk online and at party meetings.
Complaints handling
Criticized by elected Jewish Labor officials, this reinstatement was also badly received by the new party boss, Keir Starmer, who arrived in April 2020. “I know it was another painful day for the Jewish community and those members of Labor who fought so hard against anti-Semitism”, does he have reacted on Twitter. Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the report’s findings, which Keir Starmer called “Day of shame” for Labor, was “Bad”, he added. Mr Starmer reiterated his commitment to party “A safe place for the Jews” and wanted the establishment of a “Independent complaints procedure as soon as possible” in 2021.
The decision to reinstate Mr Corbyn is in fact not due to Mr Starmer, unlike the decision to suspend him. It was the Disputes Committee of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Labor, the party’s governing body, which decided on the return of the septuagenarian to the party.
Procedure “without accountability or transparency”
The group of “Labor against anti-Semitism” lamented in a statement that “The Jewish community continues to be ignored”. “Labor Party disciplinary proceedings once again appear subject to political interference, obviously without accountability or transparency”, denounced his spokesperson, Fiona Sharpe.
Prior to the NEC meeting, Jeremy Corbyn issued a statement to clarify his remarks, assuring that “Concerns about anti-Semitism are not “exaggerated” “. “What I wanted to say is that the vast majority of Labor members were and remain committed anti-racists, deeply opposed to anti-Semitism”, he added, saying regret “The harm this problem has caused to the Jewish community”.
