A Labour meeting in east London on Monday night has been described by a prominent member as "the worst Labour party meeting" he had ever attended. Hard left party activists had raised a motion condemning the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The BoD had earlier released a ten point pledge to eradicate anti-Semitism and invited Labour leadership candidates to sign up. The vice chairman of Ilford South Constituency Labour Party described the reaction of his local branch...
Ilford South's new MP Sam Tarry was drawn into the row after he failed to condemn the motion. See below for the motion in full (click to enlarge).
Ironically, Tarry's campaign slogan in last month's election was "A fresh start for Ilford". This was a clear reference to the saga of Mike Gapes - the incumbent Labour MP who quit the party last year and went on to co-found the disastrous Change UK. One of the key reasons Gapes quit was the party's mishandling of anti-Semitism. If this week's events in Ilford South prove anything - it's that Sam Tarry's election is far from a 'fresh start'!
Hard left anger over the BoD pledge is also what led to a Twitter spat between Ed Balls and Chris Williamson earlier this week. The Morning Star also piled in with its front page this morning.
Whoever wins the Labour leadership contest will have their work cut out eradicating anti-Semitism from their own party, let alone wider society.
