A humiliated Jeremy Corbyn was forced to suspend a close ally yesterday after a revolt by his MPs.
Labour had initially refused to withdraw the whip from Chris Williamson, even though he had said the party was ‘too apologetic’ about anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn is believed to have intervened personally to block his suspension.
Some 38 moderate MPs then pressed for Mr Williamson’s removal, putting their demands in a letter. Deputy leader Tom Watson also intervened, condemning the decision to only ‘investigate’ the remarks.
A former frontbencher and MP for Derby North, Chris Williamson (left) is a long-time ally of Mr Corbyn
The mass revolt sparked a review by party general secretary Jennie Formby, who suspended Mr Williamson hours later. The move angered hard-Left supporters of Mr Corbyn, some of whom said they would quit the party.
On another calamitous day for the Labour leader, who has already lost a string of MPs over his failure to tackle anti-Semitism:
- A second recording emerged of Mr Williamson saying he had never seen an example of anti-Semitism in Labour;
- Following his suspension, he was found by a camera crew outside a pub where he vowed ‘to clear his name’.
- Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who branded Mr Corbyn an anti-Semite, said the party left her, as a Jew, feeling ‘more frightened than I have ever been’;
- New figures showed that trade union donations to Labour hit a new low in 2018, with the £1.6million in donations over the fourth quarter outstripped by £2.1million received from public funds.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaving the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London yesterday
Speech: Chris Williamson filmed at the Momentum meeting in Sheffield
A former frontbencher and MP for Derby North, Mr Williamson is a long-time ally of Mr Corbyn. Just last month the Labour leader told the Derby Telegraph: ‘Chris Williamson is a very good, very effective Labour MP. He is a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not anti-Semitic in any way.’
MPs erupted in fury yesterday after a recording of Mr Williamson was obtained by the Yorkshire Post late on Tuesday which showed the MP at a Momentum meeting in Sheffield saying the party had been ‘too apologetic’ about anti-Semitism.
He said: ‘The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party.
‘I have got to say I think our party’s response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion ... we have backed off too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic.’
He was also shown responding to the resignations of nine Labour MPs last week, including the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger, by singing the 1980s hit by Kool and the Gang, Celebration.
Another recording acquired by the Jewish Chronicle emerged yesterday morning in which Mr Williamson was shown describing MPs who marched with the Jewish MP Ruth Smeeth as ‘white and privileged’. In the video, he was also shown saying that he had never seen an example of anti-Semitism in Labour, adding that critics had ‘weaponised’ it to condemn the party.
After the row exploded yesterday morning, Mr Williamson was forced to tweet a heavily caveated apology, saying he ‘regretted’ his choice of words, before the party announced an investigation into him for a ‘pattern of behaviour’.
Labour had initially refused to withdraw the whip from Chris Williamson, even though he had said the party was ‘too apologetic’ about anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn is believed to have intervened personally to block his suspension
The failure to suspend Mr Williamson immediately triggered fierce anger from Labour MPs, union bosses, and Theresa May, who directly challenged Mr Corbyn over the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The backlash was led by Jewish former Labour MP Luciana Berger, who quit the party over what she described as ‘institutional anti-Semitism’ and retweeted the video of Mr Williamson.
She said: ‘This is what I have left behind. It’s toxic. Our country deserves so much better.’
Louise Ellman, a Jewish MP who is rumoured to be considering leaving the party, said: ‘Chris Williamson should be suspended immediately... This is a provocation too far.’ Veteran Jewish Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who was investigated by the party after branding Mr Corbyn a racist and an anti-Semite, demanded action.
She said her reaction was ‘shock, anger and disappointment’ in the week after Miss Berger was forced out of the Labour party.
GMB union boss Tim Roache had also called for Mr Williamson to lose the Labour whip.
Labour’s parliamentary committee called for Mr Williamson to be suspended but said the Leader’s office had initially resisted the move. All ten members of the panel – including Mr Watson – said he should have the whip withdrawn.
And shortly before the decision to suspend Mr Williamson was announced at 5pm, 38 members of the Tribune group of Labour MPs wrote to Miss Formby demanding action.
A party spokesman said: ‘Chris Williamson is suspended from the party, and therefore the whip, pending investigation.’
Asked about the MP’s comments yesterday, Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said they were ‘deeply offensive’ and that ‘downplaying the problem of anti-Semitism makes it harder for us to tackle it’.
The spokesman said Mr Corbyn did not have personal responsibility for withdrawing the whip.
Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: ‘The suspension of Chris Williamson under duress shows that the Labour Party no longer possesses moral initiative.’
Even unions paymasters are deserting the party
Trade union donations to Labour hit a new low in 2018 as even its traditional backers desert the beleaguered party.
The total of £6.5million received from the unions was the lowest since Electoral Commission records started in 2001.
The sum pales in comparison to almost £17million given during the election year of 2017, around £10million in 2016 and £18million in 2015.
Labour received more than £8million a year from unions in non-election years under Ed Miliband’s leadership. The Electoral Commission revealed the donation totals for the final three months of last year, showing Theresa May’s Conservatives taking in almost £7.4million, which was more than four times the amount to Jeremy Corbyn’s party.
James Cleverly, the Tories’ deputy chairman, said: ‘Even Labour’s traditional big union donors appear to be turning their back on Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.
He blamed it on Corbyn’s ‘failure to deal with anti-Jewish racism’ and his ‘tendency to side with our country’s enemies’.
Leader let off for his trip to terrorists’ graveyard
Watchdogs have decided not to censure Jeremy Corbyn over his undeclared wreath-laying trip to Tunisia.
Kathryn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, accepted the Labour leader’s estimate that his two-day trip to a five-star hotel cost just £656 – just fractionally short of the threshold for listing donations. She exonerated him even though he admitted it had ‘not been possible’ to establish the actual cost, which was met by the Tunisian government.
She did find him guilty of not listing one trip which did exceed the £660 threshold for declarations – a visit to New York in April 2014 to attend a nuclear non-proliferation conference for CND. Mr Corbyn apologised ‘unreservedly’ for the error.
The Tunisia trip, during which he visited the cemetery where terror leaders linked to the Munich massacre are buried, attracted huge criticism last year.
The Mail obtained a photograph of the Labour leader holding a wreath a feet away from the graves of terror leaders linked to the 1972 Olympic Games killings.
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said he was sceptical about the supposed costs of the trip.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/28/corbyn-tries-to-save-close-ally-in-vile-anti-semitism-storm-only-to-be-shamed-into-suspending-him/
Main photo article A humiliated Jeremy Corbyn was forced to suspend a close ally yesterday after a revolt by his MPs.
Labour had initially refused to withdraw the whip from Chris Williamson, even though he had said the party was ‘too apologetic’ about anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn is believed to have intervened per...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/27/22/10382922-6753719-A_former_frontbencher_and_MP_for_Derby_North_Chris_Williamson_le-m-73_1551307843132.jpg
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