For the forth time in five years the country will have a national poll. The December 12th 2019 General Election follows ballots in 2017, 2016 and 2015 for parliamentary elections, European Union membership referendum and parliamentary elections respectively.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, evidently not “dead in a ditch” despite breaking his promise of not asking for a Brexit extension (1) is campaigning on the Conservative Party message of “Get Brexit Done. Unleash Britain’s Potential.” Labour is exhorting the country that “It’s Time For Real Change”, while the Liberal Democrats are promising “Stop Brexit. Build A Brighter Future.”
Key Conservative policies include: Passing the PM’s Brexit deal and leaving the EU on 31 January. They want to spend more money on schools, hospitals and the police while also cutting taxes in a reversal of nine years of austerity. They also want to bring in a new slate of tough law-and-order policies with longer sentences for serious criminals and a less generous parole regime. Labour are staking their claim on renegotiating the Brexit deal and putting it to a referendum in summer 2020. They want to nationalise key utilities including railways and water firms, abolish tuition fees and hike taxes on the richest in society. They also plan to put austerity into reverse and roll out a radical programme of socialist reforms. For their part the Liberal Democrats are campaigning on cancelling Brexit without a referendum if they win a majority, or hold a second referendum if not. They advocate centrist economic and social policies which would soften the impact of austerity. The Lib Dems claim politics has been captured by the extremes and insist they can restore the rule of moderates. (2)
According to the rolling average of opinion polls Tory support has hit its highest level since 2017 at 41 per cent, while support for Labour has also grown significantly to 33 per cent, its highest level since April. Conversely, support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party hit a new low, sinking from seven to five per cent and the Liberal Democrats also saw a drop in support to 14 per cent, after starting at 19 per cent when the election was called. (3)
The Brexit party may be suffering from what many are calling Farage’s capitulation to the Tories by agreeing not to run candidates in constituencies that the ruling party won in 2017. He denies that his decision was influenced by the offer of a seat in the House of Lords forty-eight hours before his U-turn and has vowed to snub the honour. (4)
That Labour are in striking distance of the Conservatives is all the more remarkable given the nature of the coverage party leader Jeremy Corbyn receives from the press. A 2016 “rigorous and statistically representative analysis” undertaken by Bart Cammaerts, Associate Professor and PhD Director at the London School of Economics and Political Science, showed that “75% of press coverage misrepresents Jeremy Corbyn…” Cammaerts continues:
“According to the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO), newspapers are obliged to ‘make a clear distinction between comment, conjecture and fact’ and this also did not apply to Corbyn. Furthermore, Corbyn’s voice is often absent in the reporting on him, and when it is present it is often presented in a highly distorted way. In terms of the news sources used in the articles, the civil war within Labour is very enthusiastically amplified. In most newspapers, including The Daily Mirror and The Independent, Labour voices that are anti-Corbyn outweigh those that are pro-Corbyn.” (5)
Since then things have arguably got even worse as the party has been rocked by allegations of antisemitism coupled with accusations of a reluctance at the highest level to deal with it. This was compounded in a letter published on November 14th titled, “Concerns about antisemitism mean we cannot vote Labour.” The twenty-four signatories that included former CRE head Trevor Phillips, TV producer (The Real McCoy) Terry Jervis, John le Carré, Fay Weldon, Joanna Lumley, Simon Callow, Frederick Forsyth and Tony Parsons, declared:
“To endorse Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister would be to surrender in the fight against anti-Jewish prejudice… The coming election is momentous for every voter, but for British Jews it contains a particular anguish: the prospect of a prime minister steeped in association with antisemitism. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour has come under formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional racism against Jews. Two Jewish MPs have been bullied out of the party. Mr Corbyn has a long record of embracing antisemites as comrades.” (6)
Other reports suggest that nearly half of British Jews are considering leaving the country if Labour wins the General Election on December 12th, while some have transposed the Labour slogan ‘for the many, not the few’ by replacing the last word with Jew to emphasise their opposition (7)
This issue has perhaps becoming one of the defining issues of Corbyn’s leadership and has resulted in the disciplinary action or expulsion of the some of the party’s long-standing activists and MPs including Marc Wadsworth, Jackie Walker, Lee Jasper, Marlene Ellis and Chris Williamson. (8)
One of the earliest high-profile instances of note relates to veteran journalist and anti-racism campaigner Marc Wadsworth who history will record as being instrumental in launching the Stephen Lawrence campaign by linking the family with Nelson Mandela. (9)
Bro. Marc became ensnared due what was essentially an off the cuff comment, subordinate to a more substantive point made at the launch of the report of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into allegations of antisemitism and racism in the Labour Party. His group, Momentum Black Connexions, had made a submission to the report. In the question and answer section he said:
“I saw that The Telegraph handed a copy of a press release to Ruth Smeeth MP so you can see who’s working hand in hand. I’m pleased that Keith Vaz said to me a moment ago that he supports the leader Jeremy Corbyn. The question is this right, if you look around this room, how many African-Caribbean and Asian people are there? We really need to get our house in order, don’t we? And that was a recommendation of the report, that the Labour Party has to change in terms of representation..” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdBNzcVAe7s)
Smeeth ratcheted her response up to eleven, claiming that Wadsworth was suggesting that Jewish people had control over the media, even though he didn’t know she was Jewish. Some likened her response to that of priveliged southern belle in the Jim Crow south whose repose had been shattered by a bout of “wreckless eyeballing” – assuaged only by the lynching of her big, Black, uppity aggressor. These days the lynching is political rather than physical (10)
The furore resulted in his suspension and ultimately expulsion from the Labour Party in April 2018 by an entirely white panel at a hearing noted for the gang of white, mainly female Labour MPs descending on proceedings in support of Smeeth. The group included notorious Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips who had previously bragged about shouting obscenities at the longest serving Black MP in the House of Commons, Diane Abbott. The spectable actually served to prove the point Bro. Marc made at the Chakrabarti report launch – white identity politics remains the dominant imperative of much of the Labour Party, especially the parliamentary part of it. They engage in public charade over a manufactured controversy but can find no common cause with issues like Windrush and Grenfell. One commentator called it “Kafkaesque”. (11)
Recently ousted Labour MP Chris Williamson, who had acted as a character witness for Br. Marc, called the expulsion “perverse” and “absurd”, saying: “It flies in the face of the evidence that was presented and offends against the principles of natural justice.” Moreover, whereas Marc Wadsworth was expelled for two offences under rules relating to bringing the party into disrepute for a passing comment, the investigation into Baking MP Margaret Hodge, who called party leader Jeremy Corbyn a “fucking racist and antisemite,” was initiated and abruptly called to a halt. (12)
Subsequent reporting, including Wikileaks releases, has exposed Smeeth as something rather different than an innocent victim:
“Official records show that Ruth Smeeth was funded by two ultra-wealthy figures from the same pro-Israel organization she once worked for. But these relationships have been overlooked by the British press, which have extensively reported on her allegations of anti-Semitic abuse at the hands of Jeremy Corbyn supporters… What is generally not known is that Ruth Smeeth was identified by WikiLeaks, via a US embassy diplomatic cable, as a “strictly protect” – US informant.” (13)
Such revelations are prompting some to conclude that the campaign against Jeremy Corbyn and Labour activists is less to do with antisemitism than with his historical solidarity with Palestinian rights and opposition to Israeli government policy. Activists on the left refer to Israel as an apartheid state that has ostensibly taken up the mantle of the Anglo-Boer regime in southern Afrika it offered nuclear weapons to in the 1970s. (14)
Blogger Robert A. H. Cohen tackles these issues head on, arguing “as a British Jew I’m not fearful of a Corbyn government but I’m horrified at how antisemitism is being used against him”:
“As this General Election campaign got underway, the Jewish Chronicle’s editorial stated:
“The impact of a Labour victory is almost unimaginable for our community…The prospect is truly frightening.”
The Jewish News titled its main Op Ed ‘The nightmare before Chanukah?’
What exactly are these editorial writers expecting to happen if Corbyn becomes Prime Minister? Shouldn’t it be possible to imagine it? Is there some hidden anti-Jewish manifesto in Corbyn’s back pocket that only they have seen? Their language suggests they expect immediate discriminatory laws against Jews to be enacted by a Corbyn government or, at the very least, a hostile environment against Jews to be created across the country.
Speaking at a formal dinner of the Board of Deputies of British Jews on November 4 the Board’s President, Marie van de Zyl, also hinted at the dark consequences of a Corbyn victory by saying the Board was “preparing for all scenarios.”
What kind of “scenarios” is the Board preparing for? It’s never made clear because it makes no sense. But a feeling of impending doom is created and left hanging in the air.” (15)
Given the negligible impact of the Jewish on the outcome of the election, Cohen argues that the campaign against Corbyn is primarily about influencing the wider UK electorate:
“Corbyn has been a longstanding campaigner for Palestinian rights for decades. Those official and establishment Jewish voices that say they fear a Corbyn government tell us they do so because they fear a radical change in the safety and security of Jews in Britain. But a more credible explanation for their accusations is the possibility of a radical change in the attitude of the British government towards the State of Israel. But in merely expressing the possibility of a political motive behind the attacks, one quickly becomes branded as anti-Jewish. Freedom of speech gets buried alive in this war over the meaning of antisemitism.” (16)
Reviewing the available data on antisemitism he surmises:
“The upshot is, there’s less antisemitism in Labour than you would expect to find in the UK population as a whole (which is already among the lowest in the world). In fact, reputable surveying in 2017 by Jewish Policy Research, showed that antisemitism was more prevalent on the right and far right than on the left in the UK.” (17)
The paradox is that the far-right, the ideological descendants of the Nazis are among the staunchest supporters of Israel. At the same time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advances spurious revisionist history suggesting that Hitler had no plans to exterminate the Jews until the Palenstinian Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini suggested it to him in November 1941. However, reputable historians agree that what became know as “the final solution”, was a natural extension of the Nazi’s earlier practices. (18)
Cohen, actually criticizes Corbyn for not defending himself more robustly against accusations of antisemitism, given his track record, adding that there is only one result that will placate his opponents:
“Over the last four years the formal leadership of the Jewish community in the UK, aided and abetted by Jewish community newspapers and the Campaign Against Antisemitism, have succeed in making the task of fighting anti-Jewish behaviour harder and more complicated.
They have exaggerated a problem within Labour and enabled a false narrative to take hold in the public’s understanding of the issue. In doing this, they have made antisemitism into a party political football.
The campaign against Labour has never been about reforming or educating a small minority or rooting out a tiny hardcore of antisemitism. This has been about regime change. Only Corbyn’s resignation as leader was ever going to be truly acceptable.
With a General Election campaign now in full swing, Labour candidates and Labour activists, and indeed Labour voters, are being told they are actively promoting antisemitism or at least ignoring the concerns of the Jewish community in Britain. It’s no longer just Corbyn that’s being vilified. It’s half the country.
Meanwhile, Jewish families have become fearful under entirely false pretenses.” (19)
If its fear, manufactured or otherwise, that is motivating the UK’s Jewish community and their allies, there must be an entirely different impetus when members of the armed forces use your picture for target practice. It must give pause to consider who should be really more fearful of Corbyn premiership – Corbyn himself or his adversaries. In the final analysis, it will be interesting to see if the antisemitism accusations maintain their virulence after Corbyn departs as leader, particularly if he is succeeded by a more pro-Israel candidate. (20)
So even though Israeli embassy official Shai Masot was allegedly “sent back in disgrace” when his £1 million plot to “take down” MPs regarded as hostile (to Israeli interests) was exposed in early 2017, the programme has clearly continued in his absence, with the Labour Party in its crosshairs and might provide extra context for the activities of the likes of Ruth Smeeth. Yet, it’s a development that has received scant attention since, while Labour’s calls for an inquiry remain unheeded. (21)
The irony is that the self-styled “nasty party” Conservatives, with their historic antipathy to the non-white electorate (22) are getting a virtual free pass in the press. This is in spite of the fact that former party chair Baroness Warsi continues to claim that the party is failing to tackle “racism at every level.” She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
“I’m starting to question just how much needs to come to light before the party finally acknowledges we have a serious and deep problem with Islamophobia and that, institutionally we’re failing to deal with it.
Remember, we’re now four years into these matters first being brought to the attention of the party, three chairman later, two prime ministers later, the fact that we’re still prevaricating about even having an inquiry, and the kind of inquiry we’re going to have, shows just how dismissive the party have been on the issue of Islamophobia.
Let’s not forget that that the first issue raised by my colleagues and indeed the previous prime minister was that there really was no evidence of Islamophobia. Well, here we are four years later with dossier after dossier, dozens of dozens of cases being presented with the most vile evidence of racism within the party at every level from members of parliament all the way down to ordinary activists.” (23)
Even though twenty-five sitting and former Conservative councillors have been exposed for posting Islamophobic and racist material on social media, party leader Boris Johnson’s U-turn on holding an independent inquiry into the issue was not an encouraging sign for those wanting to see the matter addressed. (24)
The experience of the likes Marc Wadsworth, Marlene Ellis, Jackie Walker and others must lead one to conclude that Afrikans in the UK are struggling for a home in the mainstream political parties. The substantive point that Bro. Marc made on June 30th 2016 (increased representation in the party), has been overlooked in service of what many feel is a manufactured moral panic over antisemitism which has served to throw Afrikan activists under the proverbial bus. As “Jewish Dissident” from Jewish Voice for Labour, Jay Blackwood mused, “You Don’t Have To Be Black To Be Expelled – But It Helps.” (25) Nevertheless, some Afrikan MPs like Edmonton MP Kate Osamor have publicly expressed solidarity with Marc Wadsworth, as have front bench Norwich MP Clive Lewis who decalred (apparently to avail) “I would like to see Jeremy Corbyn come out fighting on this issue.” party leader and while others have been less forthcoming. (26) Those considering the Lib-Dems as an option may want to take heed of Brent Central MP Dawn Butler’s query of whether they are in need of diversity training when dealing with people that Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith sees as having a “funny tinge.” (27)
The USA is often prescient of political trends in the UK, so the defence of senior White House advisor Stephen Miller is instructive. He already has a long-standing reputation as a notorious white supremacist. (28) Now, nine hundred of his recently leaked e-mails highlighted how he pushed white nationalist literature and racist immigration stories to media outlets, prompting calls for either his sacking or resignation. A White House spokesperson reportedly responded:
“This is clearly a form of anti-Semitism to levy these attacks against a Jewish staffer.” (29)
(1) Alison Durkee (06/09/19) Boris Johnson would rather be “dead in a ditch” than delay Brexit. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/09/boris-johnson-brexit-dead-in-a-ditch
(2) Rob Watson (09/11/19) General election 2019: Gloves off as UK parties launch campaigns. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50329602; Hugo Gye (01/11/19) General election 2019: Full guide to all the parties and what they’re looking for from the snap election. https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2019-full-guide-parties-snap-election-policies-conservatives-liberal-democrats-labour-825067
(3) Bonnie Christian (16/11/19) UK election polls tracker: Support for Conservatives reaches highest level since 2017. https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBWRRCD?m=en-gb&ocid=News
(4) Jack Peat (12/11/19) Nigel Farage “offered peerage” 48 hours before Brexit U-turn. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farages-shock-peerage-claim-20860581
(5) Bart Cammaerts (19/07/16) Our report found that 75% of press coverage misrepresents Jeremy Corbyn – we can’t ignore media bias anymore. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-media-bias-labour-mainstream-press-lse-study-misrepresentation-we-cant-ignore-bias-a7144381.html
(6) John le Carré et al (14/11/19) Concerns about antisemitism mean we cannot vote Labour.
(7) Robert A. H. Cohen (13/11/19) As a British Jew I’m not fearful of a Corbyn government but I’m horrified at how antisemitism is being used against him. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/writingfromtheedge/2019/11/as-a-british-jew-im-not-fearful-of-a-corbyn-government-but-im-horrified-at-how-antisemitism-is-being-used-against-him/?fbclid=IwAR0_CDWtcmv3mvs6Lhl7sphhj_ZxfI6rUC1ir8lHtSvBoe4Qnhk7Qkymldk
(8) Lamiat Sabin (22/02/19) Marc Wadsworth takes Labour to court over expulsion. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/marc-wadsworth-takes-labour-court-over-expulsion; David Wilcock (06/11/19) Anti-Semitism row Labour MP Chris Williamson is KICKED OUT of his seat by the party with the Jeremy Corbyn ally not selected to stand at the general election. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7656203/Anti-Semitism-row-Labour-MP-Chris-Williamson-KICKED-seat-party.html; Asa Winstanley (09/06/16) Labour “anti-Semitism” witch hunt claims new victims. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/labour-anti-semitism-witch-hunt-claims-new-victims
(9) Ben Chacko (26/09/18) Anti-racist activists call for justice for Marc Wadsworth. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-racist-activists-call-justice-marc-wadsworth
(10) Ibid. ; Curious Chak (27/04/18) Lynching by media of a black civil rights activist. https://twitter.com/Curious_Chak/status/989827697705701376
(11) Victoria Princewill (10/05/19) As we rally to support Jess Phillips, let’s not forget her ‘lies’ about Diane Abbott. gal-dem.com/as-we-rally-to-support-jess-phillips-lets-not-forget-her-alleged-lies-about-diane-abbott/ Kevin Ovenden (28/04/18) Wadsworth’s expulsion and the contemptible treachery of the Labour right. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/wadsworths-expulsion-and-contemptible-treachery-labour-right
(12) Benjamin Kentish (27/04/18) Labour activist expelled for heckling Jewish MP claims Jeremy Corbyn said he ‘had done nothing wrong. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-activist-expelled-jeremy-corbyn-reaction-marc-wadsworth-heckle-jewish-mp-a8325591.html; Sabin. Op. cit.
(13) True Publica (08/04/19) Is this the Epicentre of Corbyn’s Antisemitism Story?. https://www.globalresearch.ca/epicentre-corbyns-antisemitism-story/5673905
(14) Praful Bidwai (17/06/10) Secret Israel–South Africa Nuclear Deal Exposed: Zionism’s alliance with apartheid https://www.tni.org/es/node/13217
(15) Cohen. Op. cit.
(16) Ibid.
(17) Ibid.
(18) Murat Sofuoglu (05/03/19) Israel’s dance with far-right movements across the world. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/israel-s-dance-with-far-right-movements-across-the-world-24677; Zack Beauchamp (21/10/15) Benjamin Netanyahu blames the Holocaust on a Palestinian mufti. That’s ludicrous. https://www.vox.com/201510/21/9584122/netanyahu-mufti-hitler
(19) Cohen. Op. cit..
(20) Lizzie Dearden (03/04/19) British soldiers shown shooting Jeremy Corbyn target prompts army investigation. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/soldiers-corbyn-shoot-target-practice-army-mod-kabul-a8852156.html
(21) Ewen MacAskill and Ian Cobain (08/01/17) Israeli diplomat who plotted against MPs also set up political groups https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/08/israeli-diplomat-shai-masot-plotted-against-mps-set-up-political-groups-labour; Zoe Streatfield (12/01/17) Israel spends £1 million on bribing British MPs. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-b28c-israel-spends-1-million-on-bribing-british-mps-1
(22) Tim Wigmore (15/10/14) Fifty years on, the Conservative party’s race problem remains. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/10/fifty-years-conservative-partys-race-problem-remains
(23) Simon Murphy (13/11/19) Lady Warsi says Tories still failing to tackle ‘racism at every level’. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/13/lady-warsi-hits-out-at-tory-failure-to-tackle-islamophobia
(24) Ibid
(25) Jay Blackwood (07/08/18) You Don’t Have To Be Black To Be Expelled – But It Helps. https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/you-dont-have-to-be-black-to-be-expelled-but-it-helps/
(26) JC Reporter (21/03/19) Labour MP Kate Osamor expresses ‘solidarity’ with activist Marc Wadsworth, expelled over antisemitism row. https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-mp-kate-osamor-expresses-solidarity-with-marc-wadsworth-expelled-over-antisemitism-row-1.481863; Chacko. Op. cit
(27) BBC News (15/10/19) Black MP Dawn Butler calls for Lib Dem ‘diversity’ probe. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50058319
(28) Josh Harkinson (14/12/16) Trump’s Newest Senior Adviser Seen as a White Nationalist Ally. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/trumps-newest-senior-adviser-seen-ally-white-nationalists/
(29) Hannah Gais (15/11/19) Demands for Stephen Miller’s Resignation Grow Following SPLC Report. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/15/demands-stephen-millers-resignation-grow-following-splc-report
We ask the question:
Election 2019 – What’s in it for us?
1) Do you know who will be voting for (if you will be voting)?
2) Is Labour’s antisemitism issue a “false narrative”?
3) What does Marc Wadsworth’s expulsion tell us about the Labour Party?
4) Are Tory and Lib-Dem racism issues getting enough coverage?
5) Are Afrikans in the UK now politically homeless?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Marc Wadsworth: is a veteran journalist and activist. He came to prominence as a Reporter/presenter for ITV’s Thames News and BBC radio and television. Wadsworth set up and ran a community journalism course for Stonebridge Housing Action Trust in North West London and has run similar training courses for other organisations. Wadsworth has written special reports for national newspapers including The Mail on Sunday, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Evening Standard. As a freelance foreign correspondent, he has contributed to The Guardian, The Observer and Channel Four News. Wadsworth helped to secure Black Sections (caucuses) within the Labour Party, first tabled in 1983, to further the cause of greater African, Caribbean and Asian political representation. He was then founder of the Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) in 1991 and helped set up the campaign for justice after the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. The ARA succeeded in getting human rights lawyer Geoffrey Bindman to draft a bill to make racial harassment and racial violence specific criminal offences, which proposals became law years later. More recently Bro. Marc was committee member Momentum Black ConneXions (MBC) a pro-Corbyn campaign group Momentum. After being suspended in 2016 he was expelled by the Labour Party in April 2018 even though it was said that the decision “flies in the face of the evidence that was presented and offences against the principles of natural justice.” Since his suspension he co-founded the Grassroots Black Left (https://grblackleft.com/).