By Chathushka Perera
LONDON, UK (CWBN)_ Former Opposition Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was reinstated as member of the Labour Party, following a decision made by the Disputes Panel of the National Executive Committee, yesterday (17th Nov), amidst pushback from the Jewish Labour Movement, the Jewish Leadership Council and others.
The 71 year old, lost his position as party leader in late-October having attempted to soften the blow of a report published by the rights watchdog, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which had claimed that Labour was in breach of three provisions of the Equality Act (2010), during Corbyn’s tenure. This includes interference with complaints concerning anti-Semitism, faliure to provide training to those handling complaints and verbal harassment against complaints.
Speaking to BBC prior to his suspension, Corbyn stated that several complaints were received around the time he had taken office as party leader, which were addressed by a probe conducted by Baroness Shami Chakrabarti. However, the implementation of the recommendations made by the probe were not implemented until 2018, under General Secretary of Labour, Jennie Formby.
“But the numbers have been exaggerated in my view. The public perception and opinion poll last year was that one-third of all Labour Party […] were under suspicion of anti-Semitism. The reality is it was 0.3% of party members had a case against them.”
He had further noted that “obstructive party bureaucracy” had impeded his attempts to deal with the issue.
Following Corbyn’s departure, the empty seat was taken by Sir Keir Stramer allowing the party to push away from hard-left policies that have been blamed for the party’s election failures for the last ten years.
Stramer responded to Corbyn’s reinstatement over Twitter, calling it a “painful day for the Jewish community and those Labour members who have fought so hard to tackle anti-Semitism. Corbyn himself took to Twitter to thank party members for the decision and maintained that the party “must now come together to oppose and defeat this deeply damaging Conservative government.”
It still remains uncertain whether Corbyn will be appointed as Chief Whip, an act that was described as a “dreadful stain” on the party, by former MP Dame Louise Ellman.
Edited by Elishya Perera
