A key member of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet has echoed former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for Labour to expel members found guilty of antisemitism.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Shadow Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was asked on The World This Weekend on Radio 4 about Mr Brown’s demand for tougher action from the party.
“People who are found guilty of antisemitism should be expelled from the party and I don’ think anyone would dispute that,” she said.
Tipped as a possible successor to Mr Corbyn, she acknowledged he had lost the trust of the Jewish community when she met representatives of the Jewish Labour Movement a week ago.
She also revealed that she did not know why Derby North MP Chris Williamson had been allowed to remain in the party.
Mr Williamson – who was suspended after saying the party had been too apologetic on antisemitism claims, briefly readmitted with a reprimand and then re-suspended after an outcry from MPs – is due to face a fresh disciplinary hearing this week.
The party is also likely to come under new scrutiny over its handling of antisemitism cases when an hour-long Panorama special airs on BBC TV later this week.
Ms Long-Bailey, the MP for Salford and Eccles, told Radio 4 that while there had been “vast reforms” in the party’s disciplinary processes, “we do need to make them more robust”.
