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Keir Starmer has decided not to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn as a Labor MP, arguing that the former leader has undermined efforts to restore the party’s reputation in the Jewish community.
A NEC disciplinary panel lifted the suspension of Corbyn’s party membership on Tuesday after he issued a conciliatory statement “clarifying” controversial comments he made when the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) released a damning report on anti-Semitism. labor.
But in a heavily worded statement Wednesday, Starmer said he would not welcome Corbyn back to the Parliamentary Labor Party (PLP).
“Jeremy Corbyn’s actions in response to the EHRC report undermined and delayed our work to restore confidence in the Labor Party’s ability to address anti-Semitism,” Starmer said. “Under those circumstances, I have made the decision not to return the whip to Jeremy Corbyn. I will keep this situation under review. “
Starmer appeared to be referring to Corbyn’s statement following the release of the EHRC report on October 29, in which he said that the problem of anti-Semitism in the Labor Party had been “dramatically exaggerated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside. of the party, as well as by great part of the means “.
In a “clarification” submitted to the NEC and released this week, Corbyn said the claims of anti-Semitism had not been “exaggerated.”
That seemed to satisfy the NEC disciplinary panel, which according to party informants had unanimously decided to end the suspension of Corbyn’s Labor membership.
But it evidently did not satisfy Starmer, who repeatedly pledged during his leadership campaign to address the issue of anti-Semitism vigorously.
Corbyn’s supporters had insisted that party rules meant he should be automatically reinstated to PLP, and the decision is likely to reignite the simmering civil war between Starmer and left-wing Labor.
Starmer had already faced criticism from the Corbyn-supporting group of left-wing Campaign MPs for firing Rebecca Long-Bailey as shadow education secretary on charges of anti-Semitism.
Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum and a close Corbyn ally, said that Starmer’s decision not to reinstate Corbyn had “pushed a coach and horses through the party’s disciplinary process, making it subservient to the parliamentary party and embedding ‘interference politics’. The whip was only removed because it had been suspended. “
Starmer appeared to repudiate the NEC’s decision, which was made under disciplinary rules that are now being reviewed as part of the response to the EHRC report.
He said: “The disciplinary process does not have the confidence of the Jewish community. That became clear once again yesterday. It is up to my leadership to fix what I have inherited. That is what I am determined to do and have asked for an independent process to be established as soon as possible. “
Friends of Corbyn said Starmer’s actions could have left the party open to legal challenge. “Keir is a lawyer, don’t you realize what you’re doing? It goes completely against the EHRC report, ”said one.
The EHRC stressed the importance of disciplinary decisions being independent of political interference.
