Sir Keir Starmer has issued a challenge to the hard-left Labour MPs who oppose his plans for government to either back him or leave the party.
Labour is due to be taken out of special measures over antisemitism by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on Wednesday morning, more than two years after a report identified “serious failings” under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Writing for The Times, the Labour leader says the changes he has made to the party are “permanent, fundamental, irrevocable”, describing the party as unrecognisable from the one he took over in 2019.
“There are those who don’t like that change, who still refuse to see the reality of what had gone on under the previous leadership,” he says. “To them I say in all candour: we are never going back. If you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to stay.”
• ‘My party is not for protest’: read Starmer’s piece in full
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The commission’s investigation, which ended in October 2020, found that Labour had breached equalities legislation in areas including the “unlawful harassment” of Jewish members, political interference in the handling of complaints and a lack of adequate training.
It identified 23 instances in which Corbyn’s office or other Labour Party staff had interfered directly with complaints and said there was a culture that “at best did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and at worst could be seen to accept it”.
Corbyn was suspended after the publication of the report, having said that concerns about antisemitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated”. Starmer has made clear that his predecessor as leader will not be a candidate at the next general election.
Corbyn’s eventual expulsion will be a critical point for Starmer’s relationship with the party’s left wing. Thirty-one Labour MPs are members of the Socialist Campaign Group, but five have been enticed on to the front bench.
Several of Corbyn’s closest allies have been consistent critics of Starmer’s leadership over matters including relations with unions and NHS reforms. They include Diane Abbott, the former shadow home secretary, John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, and Ian Lavery, the former Labour Party chairman.
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The commission’s decision represents a significant moment in Starmer’s attempts to distance himself from Corbyn’s leadership and to put Labour on an election footing. Winning back voters who turned away from the party under Corbyn and securing the confidence of businesses is a key part of Starmer’s electoral strategy.
Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, has privately urged Starmer to face down Labour’s hard left or risk his election campaign being derailed. “We need to recognise these people could lose us the election,” a senior party source told The Times.
The commission had been scrutinising Labour since ruling that it was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment. These included two instances of antisemitic conduct — one by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London, and another by a Labour councillor. The investigation concluded that there had been a “breakdown of trust” between the party and the Jewish community. The watchdog said that under Starmer’s leadership Labour had improved its complaints and training procedures to protect existing and future party members.
• From 2020: the key points and people in watchdog’s Labour report
Starmer said the “conspiratorial” nature of antisemitism attracted those who would otherwise call themselves “anti-racist”. He said: “Antisemitism is an evil. It is a very specific type of racism, one that festers and spreads like an infection. Its conspiratorial nature attracts those who would have no truck with any other form of prejudice.
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“Indeed, it can be those who call themselves ‘anti-racist’ who are most blind to it.”
Marcial Boo, chief executive of the commission, said: “On January 31 we concluded our monitoring as we were satisfied that the party had implemented the necessary actions to improve its complaints, recruitment, training and other procedures to the legal standards required. This will help to protect current and future Labour Party members from discrimination and harassment. We are pleased that our investigation and action plan has had the desired impact in this case.”
Among the commission’s demands were for Labour to commit itself to zero-tolerance of antisemitism and to set up an independent complaints handling process. In addition the party was told to include the Jewish community in consultation over the reforms, to tighten its social media guidelines and to strengthen its due diligence checks on candidates.
Starmer’s left-wing critics on the Labour benches
Diane Abbott The former shadow home secretary is a prominent critic of Sir Keir Starmer and his team. Last month she criticised Labour’s NHS reforms, accusing him of using “Tory rhetoric” and “euphemisms for opening up the NHS to the private sector”.
She was also one of 11 Labour MPs who put their names to a Stop the War letter criticising Nato’s “eastward expansion” before withdrawing their signatures after being threatened with losing the whip.
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John McDonnell The former shadow chancellor has pushed for Jeremy Corbyn to have the whip restored, arguing: “Now is the time for a united party.” He has repeatedly joined picket lines, saying that MPs should show their support for striking workers. He said Starmer had made a “severe mistake” by firing Sam Tarry as shadow transport secretary for supporting rail strikes. McDonnell was one of the 11 MPs who signed the Stop the War letter.
Ian LaveryThe former chairman of the Labour Party is one of several MPs who has repeatedly defied Starmer’s warning not to join picket lines. He also criticised the suspension of Corbyn, warning that it would “incense” the rank and file of the party, and that there was a risk of an internal civil war. He also signed the letter criticising Nato.
Richard Burgon The former shadow justice secretary was heavily critical of the Labour leader over changes to voting rules for party leadership elections, accusing him of treating members with contempt. He has pushed for a wealth tax, describing it as an “alternative to Conservative austerity 2.0”, and was also a signatory to the Stop the War letter.
Zarah Sultana An outspoken critic of Starmer over his approach to unions, urging him to “pick a side” and back striking workers. She also signed the Stop the War letter, but subsequently issued a statement in which she “unequivocally condemned” Russia’s actions in Ukraine. She has been reselected as the Labour MP for Coventry South.
