No place for Injustice in our Labour Party
I’m speaking in a personal capacity. I am a Jewish woman. My Jewish great grandparents fled fascism in Europe and my grandad’s cousins perished in the Holocaust.
I have experienced warmth and welcome at almost all levels of the Labour party. 46,150 members voted for me in NEC by-elections, earlier this year. Thank you very much!
As a Jew, I worry about racism against Jewish people. I also worry about privileging the racism faced by Jewish communities in this country, as more worthy of resources than other forms of discrimination such as against Black people, Palestinians, Muslims and refugees. Abuses of power are measured in detentions, deportations and deaths.
Privileging one group over another group is divisive. It’s bad for the many, as well as the bad for the Jews.
I've read the whole EHRC report and I wept with rage.
The Labour Party complaints system is so broken that the EHRC found it to be unlawful under the Equalities Act.
The EHRC report vindicates what Jewish Voice for Labour have consistently said (Chapter 6, EHRC): that many victims have been mistreated by this system - everyone making complaints as well as members complained against.
I am so sorry for the hurt and offense that so many people have been put through by the Labour Party.
There should be no place for injustice in our Labour Party.
I know members across the country are hungry for fair and just complaints process, worthy of our trade union, labour and co-operative values.
I wonder why Chakrabarti’s recommendations about natural justice have not been implemented, since 2016?
Injustice continues in the same vein with my own suspensions in March 2019 and February this year, Jeremy Corbyn's suspension last week and many many others.
I was suspended whilst a leading candidate for NEC by-elections. I was reinstated 8 days later, because thousands of people spoke out, moved motions and voted – and an NEC panel found that my behaviour “did not amount to a breach of the Party’s Rules”.
In Jeremy’s case, the evidence confirms what the twice elected leader of the Labour Party said, “One antisemite is one too many, but the SCALE of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons”
The EHRC also agrees with our human right to say this (page 27).
The Labour leadership have commented publicly on the EHRC report and an individual case. If they can do it, then so can we!
Jeremy Corbyn should be reinstated, without any further ado.
Why stay in this Party?
One good reason is to use your vote in Open Selection for your Council Labour candidates. If you want more socialist councillors, then please turn up to select us!
As Jeremy Corbyn puts it “We can build a society based on social justice, equality and care for our environment. But it will not come about unless we fight for it.”
Keep up the good work. Solidarity!
NB. The Labour Party investigated me for for several months for saying “One antisemite is one too many, but the SCALE of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons”. In March 2021, "The Panel found that your behaviour on this occasion did not amount to a breach the Party’s Rules". Please find our correspondence below.
04 November 2020