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Luciana Berger faces no confidence motion from her Constituency Labour Party for cricising Jeremy Corbyn
Prominent Jewish MP, who has been a vocal critic of the leadership's failure, becomes members' latest target
February 7, 2019 15:24
Prominent Jewish MP, who has been a vocal critic of the leadership's failure, becomes members' latest target
February 7, 2019 15:24Luciana Berger has become the latest Labour MP to face a no-confidence motion from her Constituency Labour Party for criticising Jeremy Corbyn over the party's antisemitism crisis.
The prominent Jewish MP has been an outspoken critic on the party's failure to deal with Jew-hate in its ranks and members of her Liverpool Wavertree consitutency are now planning to debate the motion on February 17.
Amid a tumultous week for the party, in which Ms Berger warned that the party's "disgusting" antisemitism was "going unchecked", the motion accuses her of "continually using the media to criticise the man we all want to be prime minister".
It follows a similar motion against Joan Ryan, the MP who chairs the Labour Friends of Israel and also criticised Mr Corbyn over Jew-hate in the party.
Ms Ryan lost the motion against her by just two votes. The taking of the vote was filmed and leaked to Press TV, the Iranian broadcaster.
According to The Red Roar blog, the Liverpool Wavertree motion says: "The UK is in crisis because of the appalling austerity policities of a government that serves the interests of the rich.
"We need a Labour government under the socialist leadership of our twice-elected Jeremy Corbyn.
"Instead of fighting for a Labour government, our MP is continually using the media to criticise the man we all want to be prime minister."
BREAKING: In the same week Luciana Berger has spoken out on antisemitism, members in her CLP have proposed a motion of no confidence in her, saying "our MP is continually using the media to criticise the man we all want to be prime minister". pic.twitter.com/VeDr7NIwRJ
— The Red Roar (@TheRedRoar) February 7, 2019
Dr Dave Rich, the CST's head of policy, said the motion showed "if you are an antisemite in Labour, you are safe. If you are a Jew who complains about antisemitism, you are not".
It's simple: if you are an antisemite in Labour, you are safe. If you are a Jew who complains about antisemitism, you are not. It's institutional and you'll find it from the leadership to the grassroots and back again. https://t.co/KTIz45xUTB
— Dave Rich (@daverich1) February 7, 2019
In September, former Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie said Labour had become "intolerant" of dissent under Mr Corbyn's leadership.
Writing after he lost a motion of no confidence himself, Mr Leslie said: "Whenever I speak publicly – and it doesn’t really matter what I say – there follows a tirade of abuse on social media calling for deselection, denouncing the politics of the centre, telling me I should not be in the Labour Party."
