Shagra Stern, who is a member of the Labour Party and who met Jeremy Corbyn in that capacity, has made a formal complaint against Margaret Hodge for anti-Semitism, pointing out her long history of hostility towards Orthodox Jews.
In that context, ponder the fact that on last night's Newsnight, entirely uninterrupted by the interviewer, Tony Blair directly equated anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel. The cat is out of the bag. Of course, although he told people to vote for other parties in 2017, for which anyone else would have been expelled, Blair is presumably still a Labour Party member. Therefore, he is now obliged under the IHRA Definition to define anti-Semitism in those terms.
In that context, ponder the fact that on last night's Newsnight, entirely uninterrupted by the interviewer, Tony Blair directly equated anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel. The cat is out of the bag. Of course, although he told people to vote for other parties in 2017, for which anyone else would have been expelled, Blair is presumably still a Labour Party member. Therefore, he is now obliged under the IHRA Definition to define anti-Semitism in those terms.
Making it all the more remarkable that that party received only 1,106 allegations of anti-Semitism between April 2018 and February 2019, of which 433 did not involve its members at all. 220 of the remaining 673 were rejected for lack of evidence, leaving 453 allegations to be investigated. Even if those had each been against a different individual, then that would have added up to 0.08 per cent of the membership.
200 allegations, more than one in six, came from just one MP, Margaret Hodge, who has had a feud with Corbyn for decades. Those turned out to relate to 111 individuals, of whom only 20 were Labour Party members. It is absolutely imperative that Jackie Walker contest Hodge's seat at the next General Election, just as it is that Marc Wadsworth put up against Ruth Smeeth, who was doing her tiresome Ruth Smeeth impersonation on the Today programme this morning. Getting Tony Greenstein into Parliament would also be a great achievement.
By the way, no BAME MP has defended Walker or Wadsworth. Not one. When it comes to that kind of thing, and to the de facto proscription of the Black Left, as well as of the Jewish Left, by means of the IHRA Definition, then I am keeping my powder relatively dry for the entry into electoral politics of someone very specific.
By the way, no BAME MP has defended Walker or Wadsworth. Not one. When it comes to that kind of thing, and to the de facto proscription of the Black Left, as well as of the Jewish Left, by means of the IHRA Definition, then I am keeping my powder relatively dry for the entry into electoral politics of someone very specific.
Another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party is now in the process of registration. I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham even if I can raise only the deposit, which I could do by going pretty overdrawn, although that was not how I was brought up. I would still prefer to raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign, but I am no longer making my candidacy conditional on having done so. In any event, please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.
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