By Mick Craig in Northern Ireland
Statement by the Labour Party Northern Ireland Executive Committee endorsing the call for Chris Williamson’s suspension to be lifted and for the whip to be restored to him:
Chris Williamson was originally suspended by the Labour Party in February 2019 after allegations of anti-Semitism. The suspension followed comments he made at a meeting of Momentum members. The media widely misreported that Chris Williamson had said that the “Labour Party had been too apologetic about anti-Semitism”. If anyone had said that, then they would have no place in the Labour Party. However, it is clear that Chris Williamson stated that the party had been too apologetic to those who had demonised the party as being “a racist bigoted party”
“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’ve backed off far too much, we have given too much ground, we’ve been too apologetic… We’ve done more to address the scourge of anti-Semitism than any other party.”
On 26 June 2019 Chris Williamson’s suspension was lifted. A three-person anti-Semitism panel drawn from the party’s National Executive Committee issued a formal warning, following advice from independent barristers. The correct rules and procedures were followed and the matter should have been closed. However, Chris Williamson’s reinstatement was met by a barrage of complaints from within the Parliamentary Labour Party and amongst some Jewish organisations. The complaints were widely circulated and amplified by the UK media. A letter calling for the reinstatement to be overturned was circulated amongst members of the PLP.
The Jewish Chronicle newspaper (June 28, 2019) claimed that anyone who didn’t sign the letter “can no longer claim to support the Jewish Community in Britain”. They actually named a number of individual MPs who had not signed the letter. The headline of the article was “Labour MPs who did not sign letter to remove Williamson whip have nowhere to hide”. Contrary to the rules and procedures of the Labour Party, Chris Williamson was again suspended.
Williamson’s comment not an attack on Jewish community
LPNI’s Executive Committee is concerned about the original suspension. We consider that Chris Williamson’s comments in no way attacked or could be reasonably construed to be an attack on the Jewish community. We instead consider them to clearly oppose a narrative that alleges the Labour Party to be a racist and bigoted party. In order to determine whether or not Chris Williamson’s comments were reasonable and that he was therefore entitled to make them, we must first of all examine whether or not the underlying premise that he opposed (that the Labour Party is a racist and bigoted party) is correct. Given the serious nature of the premise, we consider that a detailed examination is appropriate.
In recent years the Labour Party has come under increasing scrutiny in relation to allegations that it has a particular problem with anti-Semitism. Many in the mainstream media have presented these allegations as if they are an incontrovertible statement of fact. The reporting of these allegations has caused anxiety amongst Jewish people living in the UK. This is hardly surprising. Jewish people are continuously being told that the largest political party in the UK is institutionally anti-Semitic. They become worried. The worries of Jewish people are then reported as if they are further damning evidence that the Labour Party is institutionally anti-Semitic.
These allegations of “rampant anti-Semitism in the Labour Party” have led to detailed research and a number of investigations being conducted to ascertain the truthfulness of the claims. Some of the research has been conducted by world renowned Jewish organisations, with no affiliation, support for, or loyalty to the UK Labour Party. Despite their clear objective and independent credentials; their findings have been almost universally ignored by the UK media. A sample of these include:
Investigations of anti-Semitism
• The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee’s investigation into anti-Semitism concluded (October 2016) that “Despite significant press and public attention on the Labour Party, and a number of revelations regarding inappropriate social media content, there exists no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of anti-Semitic attitudes within the Labour Party than any other political party.”
• The World Jewish Congress investigated instances of anti-Semitism on social media platforms across the globe (2016). They encountered 382,000 social media posts that they considered to be anti-Semitic. Their findings in relation to the UK were “According to an analysis of user profiles, 90% of posts were made by young white males under the age of 40 with affiliations to extreme right-wing groups”.
• A Jewish Policy Research Report (September 2017) entitled “Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain – A study of attitudes towards Jews and Israel”, highlighted an important fact. In May 2015 (therefore, prior to Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the UK Labour Party), 85% of British Jews did not support the Labour Party. The overwhelming majority supported the Tories (64%). Therefore, it is not true to say that prior to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, it was “the natural home” for Jewish people.
The authors of the report were quite clear about the particular scrutiny that they were going to adopt towards the Labour Party; stating “Given recent concerns about antisemitism in the Labour Party, there is a strong case for looking closely at the Far left”. However, despite the close scrutiny, the report analysed the data and found that “The political left, captured by voting intention or actual voting for Labour, appears in these surveys as a more Jewish-friendly, or neutral, segment of the population”.
• Jewish Voice for Labour published a report analysing UK media’s reporting of allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. The authors analysed surveys relating to anti-Semitic attitudes across the political spectrum and found that anti Jewish attitudes were “low across the political spectrum, but high on the far right, and there is no evidence of a far-left concentration”. They concluded, “A smear campaign of McCarthyite proportions has been taken up unquestioningly by the mainstream media ” They also stated “The relevant data we present below has been almost completely ignored in media reporting and commentary and the findings rarely if ever referred to, or reflected upon”
Wholly biased media coverage of IHRA debate
• The Media Reform Coalition also analysed media reports of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. They included a detailed analysis of the press reporting of the Labour Party’s initial refusal to adopt the full definitions included in the IHRA. Their analysis showed that those supporting the party’s position were almost universally ignored; including support from Jewish organisations that were not affiliated or supportive of the Labour Party.
“In mid-July, an unprecedented joint statement signed by more than 40 Jewish organisations around the world (including seven in the UK) was published critiquing the IHRA definition. This received only two mentions within the sample – one in an opinion piece carried by the Independent and the other as a brief citation in the last sentence of a Guardian report”.
Their analysis showed that those interviewed and featured across the media, who were opposed to Labour’s plans to exclude some of the definitions, outnumbered those who were supportive, by over 8:1. It also detailed that many of the statements made by the media in relation to the adoption of the IHRA definitions by other countries and UK bodies, were false or misleading
The report also detailed wildly inaccurate media reporting of allegedly anti-Semitic comments or actions by Labour Party Members; including Jeremy Corbyn and MarcWadsworth. It concluded “Following extensive case study research, we identified myriad inaccuracies and distortio ns in online and television news including marked skews in sourcing, omission of essential context or right of reply, misquotation, and false assertions made either by journalists themselves or sources whose contentious claims were neither challenged nor countered” .
• The Labour Party has itself analysed whether or not there is indeed a particular problem with anti-Semitism in its ranks. It should be uncontroversial to say that there is a particularly close scrutiny of Labour Party Members and therefore the general public are likely to be vigilant and pro-active regarding perceived Labour Party members expressing anti-Jewish sentiment. The figures show that in the period between April 2018 and February 2019, the Labour Party received 1106 allegations of anti-Semitic conduct.
A fifth of all anti-Semitism complaints made by Hodge
Almost 20% of all complaints were lodged by just one person: Labour MP Margaret Hodge. (Tweet by Margaret Hodge), 40% of the overall number of complaints turned out to not even be in relation to members of the Labour Party. 20% turned out to not even cross the very low threshold required to warrant any form of investigation being initiated. Of the 40% of complaints that actually related to Labour Party Members, one third of these were completely exonerated. That means that the actual figure, during this intense period of scrutiny, indicates that approximately 1 in 2000 members engaged in some form of conduct considered to be anti-Semitic.
All anti-Semitism should be considered a scourge and a problem that needs addressing. However, it is a fair comment to say that the Labour Party does not have any form of particular problem with anti-Semitism. It is also fair to say that Labour Party Members are not to blame for the narrative that suggests that there is a particular problem with anti-Semitism in the party. It logically follows that members of the Labour Party should not feel that they should be apologetic about something that has been shown to be false.
It does not diminish the scourge of anti-Semitism to state these things. Members are entitled to feel proud of the Labour Party’s history of anti-racism and support for minority communities and for all of those facing discrimination and oppression. They are entitled to encourage others to join the party and to support it on the basis of its anti-racist and wholly inclusive credentials.
Any member is entitled to say that those who are agreeing and apologising for the Labour Party having a particular problem with anti-Semitism, is a concession to falsehoods and distortions. In a climate where such falsehoods and distortions proliferate, members are entitled to challenge the narrative. They are entitled to scrutinise complaints. They are entitled to adopt an inquisitorial approach to allegations. Every member who is accused is entitled to the absolutely fundamental principle of justice; that they are considered innocent until it is established otherwise.
Most of all, every member is entitled to be subject to the democratically determined rules and procedures governing the Party and to demand that those rules and procedures be upheld and not be subject to the arbitrariness of public opinion and pressure.
LPNI Executive Committee agreed the following resolution:-
“We are opposed to the second suspension of Chris Williamson on the grounds that it was arbitrary and unreasonable, being as it failed to adhere to Labour Party rules and procedures governing disciplinary matters.”
July 25, 2019
