JLM Statement
Last night's National Constitutional Committee decision on Ken Livingstone was the ultimate betrayal of the "zero tolerance on antisemitism" that John McDonnell spoke about. A one year suspension from holding office within the Party is completely insufficient. It is a betrayal of our Party's values. This suspension allows for a revolving door for repeat offenders, whereby they make deeply hurtful and offensive comments and expect to resume normal political activity if they sit quietly for a year. Ken Livingstone has openly, publicly and repeatedly revised the history of the Holocaust, and caused untold pain and anguish to members of the UK Jewish community and Holocaust survivors.
You can see a video message from JLM National Chair Jeremy Newmark here, and a brief clip of him on Sky News giving immediate reaction to the decision here.
JLM Media
JLM has led the reaction on media, and within the Party, with appearances on Sky News and BBC, and radio interviews with BBC Today Programme, 5 live and LBC this morning alone.
JLM NEC member Emily Hilton writing in LabourList:
"The Labour Party failed its Jewish members last night. The decision to suspend Ken Livingstone for only two years, and not to expel him for his incendiary claims about Hitler supporting Zionism, is yet another indication that Labour is not taking seriously the concerns around anti-Semitism present in the party."
You can read the full article here.
Our members
To our members who have expressed their disgust over the past twelve hours, we ask you to heed the lessons of Cable Street. You stay, you stand, you fight.
To the hundreds of new members who have joined JLM in the past twelve hours, we thank you for your solidarity and support.
Next steps
- Sign JLM's Open Letter
- Be elected as a delegate to National Conference in September
- Lobby your MP to speak out
We'll have more next steps in the coming days, so stay tuned to our social media.
