#755

hey twentynine! this article by jamie stern weiner is a good long read from 2016 (situation is still largely the same now)

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#756
  • 50-70 Tom Watsons joining the Sensibles/forming their own No Corbyns Club by the end of this month
  • I have faith in Labour’s remaining right wing not doing such a thing. They’re just throwing their weight around

0 voters

#757

If you’ve got the time, read this summary - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_UK_Labour_Party

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#758

‘The all-party Home Affairs Select Committee held an inquiry into antisemitism in the United Kingdom in the same year and found “no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of antisemitic attitudes within the Labour Party than any other political party”, but that the leadership’s lack of action “risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally antisemitic".’

That pretty much sums it up for me.

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#759
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#760

Lovely puff piece on Chuka headlining the Guardian front page where he sanitises his past on pretty much everything he’s done in politics. The portrait he draws of himself doesn’t bear much resemblance to his actual record.

#766

When this arsehole quit I was so pissed off, I was counting the days to when momentum would call a vonc in him, I was dreaming of putting an x in the “fuck off chuka” box.

He stole that from me the day he quit.

But I realise now that he given me an even greater gift. I now get to campaign against him in a GE, when it comes. I will pound the streets with a skip in my step, I will knock on every door, I will hone my message to a point that I will plunge into his political career.

The man’s a virus, his “values” are shit, and the sooner he and his “radical centerists” mates are sent packing the better.

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#767

I look forward to them being forced to actually define “radical” centrism come an election.

#768

Elections are very Old Politics mate

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#769

I also look forward to them defining New Politics and seeing if they doing any better than Clegg at it :slight_smile:

#770

Not at all, and I should have been clearer: anti-semitism exists, and it’s in the Labour party. But I think it’s essential to understand how accusations of anti-semitism are being deployed by the media at large against Labour, essential to understand that there’s no winning with most of these people, that it’s an argument made entirely in bad faith. Most of the Independent Group couldn’t give two shits about the structural causes of racism, that’s crystal clear from their voting records, yet they all cited intolerable amounts of anti-semitism as the reason they quit. It’s a smokescreen for why they really oppose a Corbyn-led Labour.

In a fair world this would have been a great opportunity to clear out some of the racists and cranks in the party, to work towards the goal of making the party a more progressive one, which is slowly and painfully what is taking place. But we shouldn’t lose sight of why this is in the headlines, constantly. It’s not because the neoliberal hegemony cares about the Jewish community at large.

#772

I completely get where you’re coming from and I agree it’s vital that we hold ourselves to higher standards than we would others. The sticking point in your post though is where is your evidence that antisemitism currently isn’t being tackled as priority? You’re making an assumptive argument when all the clear evidence is the opposite. Labour is making it a priority as seen by the increase in complaint turnover and higher enforcement of suspensions under Corbyn’s leadership

#773

I don’t think we’re disagreeing on anything but the ‘I don’t think it’s directly relevant to talk about where the right wing press, the Tories or TIG stand on racism and antisemitism’ bit. Twentynine’s original question was essentially why is this in the press a lot. I gave what I feel is a fair answer to that.

I’m also interested, if you don’t think the press have a role to play in this, as to why you think this is an issue that only relates to the last couple of years? Anti-semitism has hung over the Labour party long before Corbyn took charge. It was under Miliband, indeed, that Labour lost a large chunk of the Jewish vote.

#774

what exactly has jenny formby done wrong? i read the letter and it seems like a perfectly professional way of reminding tom watson what the policies and procedures are.

#776

Labour members with record collections

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#777

Tom Watson is desperate to be leader and prime minister

#778

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i mean 1 case is too many but it’s important to keep this in mind too

#779
#780

ghosthalo already posted the links I was going to use. Like I already said, you’re absolutely right that it occurs and that even once is once too many and there is no excuse for Jewish members having experiences such as you mention. There is antisemitism within the Labour party just as there is in all society and it’s likely it will be generations before it will be completely eradicated in either. But to say Labour isn’t acting on this as a high priority is factually untrue.

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#782

Yeah but those links