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'A lot of people assumed I was Jewish' - ex-MP Mike Gapes on 50 years of speaking up for the community

He quit Labour over its antisemitism crisis. Reflecting on his long career, he tells the JC: 'I had to be true to myself'

February 10, 2020 16:26
Mike Gapes (left) in Baghdad alongside then Prime Minister of Iraq Ibrahim al-Jaafari in January 2006. Gapes visited as part of a delegation of British MPs
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"I know that a lot of people assumed I was Jewish," says former Labour MP Mike Gapes, reflecting on a 50-year career in politics in which he repeatedly spoke up for the Jewish community and Israel, "and I never went out of my way to say I wasn’t.”

The political veteran, 67, spoke to the JC as he contemplated a future outside of Westminster following his defeat in December’s General Election after serving as the Ilford South MP for 27 years.

Last February, Mr Gapes – an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn – joined former MPs Luciana Berger, Joan Ryan and others in quitting Labour in protest at the failure to tackle antisemitism and the leader’s stance on foreign policy issues and Brexit.

But as Ilford South is a safe Labour seat, he always knew he would face a tough task being re-elected this time standing as an The Independent Group for Change – which was how it turned out to be.