We are facing at least 5 years of very nasty Conservative government. They are going to batter our communities and batter the environment. So what are WE going to do about it? I’ve got 4 proposals about what we do next. [heckler: Fight!]

Defend, Attack, Build, Create!

First: Defend! We need to defend each other from this hostile environment and oppressive regime. Defend each other from smears. So whenever anyone is attacked on facebook, attacked in the right-wing media, attacked in the school grounds, attacked at work, then defend each other. Defend. Speak out and stand up. That’s what happened to me when I was suspended – people spoke up and that’s one of the reasons I was unsuspended very quickly.

not so long ago when this would not have been a controversial thing to say, lately Jews like me have found ourselves boxed in by a Labour Party in retreat from accusations of antisemitism and a vocal centrist alliance united by a desire to oust our current leadership. I found myself on the receiving end of this when suspended and readmitted to the labour party for using the phrase “Jew process” in a now infamous speech.

Looking out across the political landscape I see a lot of things I’d never thought possible and if I’m honest, frankly terrifies me. The far right on the march waving England flags and saluting Hitler, governments on both sides of the channel led by white nationalists, and the destruction of our working class communities with policies designed to enrich the richest and enslave the poorest.  There is a lot here for our worldwide movement to get stuck into but somehow, in UK Labour, we are stuck in a parochial battle that is sapping our energy.

I’m one of many Jewish members of The Labour Party here in Liverpool city region. We don’t recognise the description that Louise Ellman paints of The Labour Party being institutionally anti-Semitic. My experience is of a very welcoming Labour Party for me as a Jewish person, as a socialist and as a human.

I’m proud to represent this community. Louise Ellman was elected on a Labour ticket, she should resign and call a by-election as she is no longer part of The Labour Party.

The Labour Party stands for the many and not the few. We have a set of brilliant policies. We support peoples right to security. Security in work, in housing, in health, and for human rights for everybody.

I'm Jewish. My great grandparents fled Eastern Europe because of fascism, the far right of the time and ethnic cleansing and found safe haven in England.

I rejoined the Labour Party in 2015 because it's the best chance in my lifetime for socialism, and for the values of care and compassion for everybody.

One year ago, I was utterly delighted to win a local by-election to represent Bromborough & New Ferry, on the west bank of the river Mersey.

One week after I was elected, Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead, chose to use antisemitism as his excuse to resign from Labour. He isn’t Jewish but I am. I wrote a letter which went viral, “I am frankly fed up of anti-Jewish racism being used as a political weapon to attack Labour...Unlike Frank Field, my constituents' highest priority is ending cruel Conservative government cuts to services we all rely on.”

I was amazed when I joined Wirral Labour group of 38 councillors. The chair spoke over my first sentence. I mentioned Labour party rules state the group chair may not also be chair of a scrutiny committee (which she was). Within a month, she had resigned from Labour. Was it something I said?

Two years after the explosion which ripped through the town, residents of New Ferry came together for a special event to mark the anniversary.

'Into The Light' was a procession of homemade lanterns crafted by local people at a series of workshops - and now a new video celebrating that special evening has been released.

The lantern procession saw hundreds of people of all ages take part - including many who were directly and indirectly affected by the blast, and hosted by BBC Radio Merseyside's Roger Phillips

It is unfortunate that the Conservative members have chosen to leave thereby depriving their own residents of their voice in this [Council] chamber.

I’d like to address everybody – Mayor, fellow Councillors and residents of Wirral.

I nip out during Christian prayers here partly because I’m Jewish. My great grandparents were refugees from ethnic cleansing and fascism in Europe. My grandfather never knew his cousins because they perished in the Holocaust.

I know from lived experience what racism against Jewish people looks like. It is vile. Just today I received antisemetic hate emails. I was told that “It’s time for Jews to leave the UK”, that I’m “lowlife - go and crawl back under your rock” and that I’m a “Nazi”.

Since the explosion however, "Not a single penny from the government has been raised to support local businesses" and people have been left to fend for themselves despite homes and livelihoods being lost.

In some of the worst cases, as Cllr Jo Bird mentioned in council session during December, "families are facing a second Christmas in temporary accommodation, in the language of war they would be phrased as internally displaced refugees". 

On what efforts the council has made without government support, Jo also reached out saying "I'm sorry that some of the safety nets didn't hold you, and I'm sorry that it has taken so long to do right by you", as we continue to work to secure the funds necessary to restore New Ferry.