By Mike Howard, Hastings and Rye Labour member
Seven members of the Labour Party including me have filed a claim in the High Court in light of the Party’s acceptance that its disciplinary process is unfair and not fit for purpose.
The group of members, Labour Activists For Justice (LA4J), who have all been unjustly accused of undermining the Party’s ability to campaign against racism, have been working for six months to persuade the Party to improve its disciplinary process for the benefit of all members, but have been rejected at every approach. Last month, the EHRC report on its investigation into Antisemitism in the Labour Party, found that the Party’s disciplinary process was not fit for purpose, and recommended that the Party should put in place a new fair system.
When the EHRC report came out, the Party said it would implement all the recommendations as a matter of urgency and would commission a new process. So LA4J approached the Party again to ensure that the Party did not continue with its investigations under the unfair process, only to be told the Report did not apply to them and the Party would continue to use the same disciplinary processes that were found to be seriously unfair by the EHRC. Today, Labour Activists for Justice filed a claim in the High Court through their solicitors, Bindmans LLP, to ensure that the Party must now address what they and the EHRC say are multiple failures in its disciplinary process.
Multiple failures of disciplinary process
The points made by the EHRC are almost identical to the points made by LA4J, including:
• the lack of clear guidelines on how antisemitism cases are judged – the Party has now confirmed that it uses a version of its Code of Conduct to judge what is antisemitic which it will not publish or even send to people under investigation,
*withholding the identity of accusers without good reason,
*a lack of fair process for the accused,
*a failure to provide adequate reasons for the decisions made.
The members of the group, four of whom are Jewish, have all had disciplinary action taken against them and are currently under investigation over alleged rule breaches relating to antisemitism, which they strongly reject. They know that many other members are in similar situations. They are making this High Court claim because the suggestion in many cases, including their own, that there is anti-Semitic content in the evidence provided by the Labour Party is unfounded and offensive. They want a fair disciplinary process to be implemented for ALL Labour Party members where the criteria by which they will be judged are clear and public and the procedures are fair.
Fighting for the rights of workers
One of the group, Diana Neslen, an 81year old Orthodox Jew said: ‘Throughout its history the Labour Movement has fought for the rights of workers, including the right to a fair and just disciplinary process. If any employer tried to impose the party’s process on their employees today, the Labour Movement and the unions would be up in arms. It is a disgrace that needs to be fixed.’
‘Over the last six months we have drawn the party’s attention to our concerns with several lawyer’s letters, but every time they refuse to address our arguments. The idea that the EHRC Report does not apply to us is the last straw. A legal challenge is not a road we want to go down, but they have left us no choice. ‘
The Labour Party owes it to all its members to treat them with fairness and due process.
This should start now!
The Members of LA4J are:
Diana Neslen (Age 81) is a General Committee delegate to Ilford South CLP. She is an Orthodox Jew. She rejoined the Labour Party in 2015, following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader, and is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour. She has been a long time Palestinian and antiracist activist. In September 2018, five months after the sudden death of her husband, and while undergoing cancer treatment, she received a reminder of conduct from the Labour Party detailing eleven ‘offences’ she had committed. All were social media postings related to Israel’s policies and conduct.
There was no indication anywhere as to the identity of the complainants or the definition of antisemitism the Party was applying, and some of the postings predated her Labour party membership. Although she contacted the Party to discover the nature of the ‘offences’, she received no response. In May 2020, while shielding alone, she received a notice of investigation from an anonymous employee of the Labour party detailing seven items that required investigation for antisemitism. The complainants were again anonymous, and the definition not based on the published code.
Although she has made contact with the party to request further information and later on to explain the proper context in which what she said must be understood, they have at no time had the courtesy to reply. It is chilling that the Labour party feels emboldened to accuse a Jewish woman of antisemitism on the basis of a hidden definition, and by its unfair processes expose the truth of the EHRC findings about its unjust complaints process.
Jonathan Rosenhead (age 82) is Chair of Hoxton West branch and serves on the Executive of Hackney South and Shoreditch CLP. He first joined the Labour Party in 1962 and was a Labour Parliamentary candidate in 1966; he rejoined the party in 2015. His Notice of Investigation, served in May 2020, cited as evidence i) a speech at the February CLP meeting nominating Jo Bird for the NEC, in which his mention of her well-known ‘Jew-process’ joke was allegedly a disciplinary offence; ii) words which were incorrectly asserted to be part of his verbal evidence as a witness at Ken Livingstone’s disciplinary hearing in 2017; and iii) an article he had written in Open Democracy in October 2017, describing the launch meeting of Jewish Voice for Labour (but which of the 3000 words were problematic was not specified). His conduct is being judged on the basis of an unpublished version of the code.
Michael Ellman (age 83) is Auditor of Junction Ward branch of Islington North CLP. He is a practising Jew. He joined the Labour Party in 1980, re-joined in 2015, and is a solicitor and former Vice-President of FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), who has fought for human rights and against racism all his life. He proposed a motion in August 2020 to an internal branch meeting to reconsider the IHRA definition of antisemitism because it might stifle legitimate political debate, and substitute the Oxford English Dictionary definition, which was leaked to the Press by an unknown person and he was immediately suspended from the Party for conduct grossly prejudicial to the Party following a complaint by an unknown person. Michael has now been unsuspended
Mike Howard (Age 68) Member of Hastings & Rye CLP. Active Labour Party member for over thirty-five years, holding office in six CLPs during this time. Twice elected Hastings Borough Councillor. Retired (former office-holding), Unison life member. Unite Community, JVL and PSC. He is a Jewish, lifelong anti-racist whose family escaped the murderous pogroms in pre-war Russia/Poland and who fought the fascists in their East London neighbourhood. Mike has suffered real anti-Semitism, and finds it completely unacceptable that Labour Party HQ, knowing that he is Jewish, has not responded to his solicitors’ request to drop an anonymous complainant’s accusations of anti-Semitism against him which is based on the process the EHRC found was unfair and based on a code the Party will not publish.
John Davies (age 66) Former Chair, St Michael’s Branch, Liverpool Riverside CLP. Member since 2015. He is accused of 7 instances of hostility or prejudice based on race or religion. The instances are mostly re-posts of material posted by others, including a former Israeli minister and a Palestinian doctor, and the charges are based on definitions of antisemitism in a version of an antisemitism code of conduct that the Labour Party will not publish. Mr Davies has been an active anti-racist all his life and denies all the charges.
Colin O Driscoll (Age 60) Vice Chair Labour International CLP (Labour Party’s International Section). First joined the Labour Party in 1978, rejoined in 2015 (pre-Corbyn). He is accused on the basis of social media posts of various instances of misconduct. The complaint was made some time before May 2020, by a person or persons unknown. The charges were laid in 2020 as part of an express expulsion procedure. He strongly denies the charges, which again are based on an antisemitism code of conduct that the Labour Party will not publish.
Chris Wallis (Age 71) Vice Chair Hazel Grove CLP (near Stockport). Member since 2015 (pre-Corbyn). He is accused of 5 instances of conduct prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the party relating to racism, and in particular antisemitism. The complaint was made in December 2019 by persons unknown, but the charges were not laid till June 2020, and only then after he had requested an update from the Party as he was about to be Acting Chair of his CLP. He rejects the charges absolutely, which again are based on a version of an antisemitism code of conduct that the Labour Party will not publish.
Link to the crowdfunding appeal is here.
December 11, 2020
