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New Labour MP Michael Shanks reveals he quit party in protest at Corbyn antisemitism failure

Shanks, who won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, said he left Labour at the time because 'it became difficult to look my Jewish friends in the eye'

October 6, 2023 12:07
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RUTHERGLEN, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 06: Labour Party leader Keir Starmer joined MP-elect Michael Shanks to celebrate Shanks' victory in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election on October 6, 2023 in Rutherglen, Scotland. Labour won the parliamentary seat with nearly 60 percent of the vote. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
3 min read

New Labour MP Michael Shanks has revealed he quit the party under Jeremy Corbyn because of his failure to tackle antisemitism. 

Shanks, who won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, said he left Labour at the time because “it became difficult to look my Jewish friends in the eye.” He later re-joined after Sir Keir Starmer became leader in April 2020. 

The by-election was called after a recall petition against Margaret Ferrier, who had won the seat for the SNP in 2019 with a majority of 5,230.

Thursday's by-election saw the SNP's majority overturned by Labour after Shanks won 17,845 votes, well ahead of the 8,399 votes returned for Scottish Nationalist candidate Katy Loudon.