Andrew Dismore

In the aftermath of Ken Livingstone’s comments, I released the following statement on 1st May:

The events of the last few days have been difficult for us all in the Labour Party.
I do not believe the Labour Party is anti-Semitic, but we do have a serious problem caused by a few rotten apples, whose shameful statements have played into the hands of our opponents. Their abhorrent views are unacceptable to the 99% plus rest of us Party members. As you know from my own record, I will confront anti-Semitism from wherever it comes, and it makes my blood boil to see us ‘in the dock’ this way, with the hundreds of thousands of decent people, our members and supporters, tainted as the result of a tiny minority who must be chucked out as soon as possible. So there is a crisis, in the way our reputation has been besmirched- but we are now getting a grip on it and dealing with that small number of unreformable recalcitrants, like Ken Livingstone.
So I must apologise on behalf of my Party for what we must accept has been a tardy response, almost a denial of the problem, of the need to take swift and firm action against that handful of anti-Semites in our midst. Albeit belatedly, firm action is now being taken by the leadership.
The party has suspended Naz Shah MP, partly as a result of my intervention with the whips; and also Ken Livingstone in particular as a result of Sadiq Khan’s demand. I believe it is high time for Labour and Livingstone to part company, this time permanently. You may have seen me saying so publically, on BBC 1 London TV news, on Friday evening.
You may also have seen the local reports a couple of weeks ago, that we excluded someone from the Labour Party in Camden due to anti-Semitism; and a number of others further afield have been suspended, pending disposal of the complaints against them in accordance with our constitution. I share the frustration , that this all seems to be taking far too long, but this is because any disciplinary action has to be in accordance with our rule book, natural justice and the law, otherwise if we did not follow the correct procedures, those accused would be able successfully to take legal action against the party for acting unlawfully and be in a stronger position, than if we took action correctly. That’s why we must change the rules.
You may have seen the recent speech by John McDonnell MP, the shadow chancellor and the interviews of Jeremy Corbyn MP stating anti-Semitism has no place in our Party. The criticism is that he has been slow to react, which as I have said, I think is a fair point.
However, suspensions, speeches and interviews are not enough. The Labour Party must act with clarity and determination, and to do so we need to go further, looking to change our rules and procedures to ensure that anti-Semites, and for that matter Islamophobes and all other racists, have no place in our Party. Sadiq Khan has shown us all how to take the lead on both, confronting hate and building cross community links. That’s why I am campaigning for him to be elected our Mayor on Thursday, to reunite London in the wake of the smear campaign against him.
I welcome the announcement that we will have a a new “code of conduct” on racism to be approved at Labour’s National Executive Committee this month. The code of conduct will include guidance on “acceptable behaviour and use of language” and make “explicitly clear for the first time that Labour will not tolerate any form of racism, including anti-Semitism, in the party”.
We are also having an independent inquiry, led by Shami Chakrabarti, former head of campaign group Liberty, who will consult with the Jewish community and other minority groups. The inquiry’s vice-chairman will be Professor David Feldman, director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism. The inquiry, which will report in two months, will set out “clear and transparent” rules on how the party should deal with allegations of racism and anti-Semitism and propose training programmes for parliamentary candidates, MPs and councillors.
But that in itself is not enough: I hope the inquiry will endorse ( as I do) the 8 point plan advanced by the editor of Progress Magazine, which he has put to the General Secretary of the Party:
1. Training for the NEC in modern antisemitism and unconscious bias
2. A vice-chair of the NEC equalities committee for the Jewish community
3. New capacity for the compliance unit
4. Time to clarify the rules – anti-Semitism must lead to a lifetime ban
5. Third party reporting or an independent ombudsperson
6. Self-organised groups for Jewish youth and student members
7. A modern understanding of anti-Semitism – victims matter
8. Join the Jewish Labour Movement
And I hope it also adopts the draft rule change proposed by the Jewish Labour Movement have also that would mean the NEC has stronger powers to suspend members who engage in racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

The Jewish community has many good friends in the Labour Party and that as long as I am in a position to challenge anti-Semitism I will do so, even if in a less influential position than I used to be when I was an MP.

Sadiq Khan is also determined on this point, has been to see the CST twice, and feels this personally as a member of a minority group himself.

On a broader note, though, I think it is problematic that the pro-Israel voice in the Labour Party has become diluted, due to the results of the last two general elections, in large part because Jewish voters did not support pro-Israel candidates. I for one would have liked to have been able to argue the corner with the influence I used to have as an MP, but which influence in my present role as a London Assembly Member is inevitably less- and would obviously disappear entirely if I am not re-elected.

The risk is that we could end up in an unvirtuous circle, with the community and the Labour Party drifting apart because fewer supportive voices are there to speak up, though the community still has many important friends in the Labour Party. Such an eventuality would not be good either for the community or the Party.

I believe the London elections are important in this respect, as Sadiq (despite the increasingly desperate smears against him from the Conservatives to suggest otherwise) is someone who will prioritise the fight against all hate crime, especially anti-Semitism and Islamophobia wherever it occurs; as of course will I, as I have in the past, if I am re-elected as your Assembly member.
So to conclude, once again i apologise on behalf of us all for the poor response and hope that you will accept that action is now being taken.
I hope you will support me and Sadiq Khan in the ballot box on Thursday, so we can together keep up the pressure from positions of influence , to ensure there is no back sliding and we tackle finally this insidious infection of anti Semitism in our ranks.

Andrew Dismore AM

Londopn Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden

 

Please also see A report on the BBC about my views on Ken Livingstone.