The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that it is lifting the Labour Party out of special measures, following the conclusion of the Action Plan agreed between the EHRC and the Party.
The Action Plan was imposed after the EHRC released its damning report in 2020, following an investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.
The EHRC has described itself as “content with the actions taken” by Labour, in justifying its decision to end its monitoring of the Party.
In 2020, at the time of the publication of the report, Campaign Against Antisemitism filed disciplinary complaints against over a dozen sitting Labour MPs against whom no action had yet been taken.
Over two years later, still no action has been taken.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Despite our status as originating complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into Labour, the Party has not carried out disciplinary investigations in relation to more than a dozen complaints that we submitted over two years ago against sitting MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, who remains a member of the Party, and Angela Rayner. It is therefore hard for us to feel that a corner has been turned.
“While welcome progress has been made in the fight against antisemitism under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, justice is yet to be done in too many cases for anyone to conclude that the problem has been rectified. We will continue to press Labour on these complaints and its other failings, just as we do with all political parties. The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn plunged the Jewish community into a state of fear that could all too easily return unless antisemitism is firmly rooted out.”
The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
