“Last Corbynista in power” quits Labour
The controversial elected Mayor of North of Tyne, who has been described as the “last Corbynista in power”, has resigned from the Labour Party after complaining that the Party barred him from standing for a new regional role.
Jamie Discroll, a former Chair of Momentum in Newcastle, has quit Labour, observing in his resignation letter that the Party “barred me from running,” a reference to the race for the first North-East Mayor.
Mr Discroll, who has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics,” did not make it into the final three shortlisted for the Party’s candidacy.
Although he previously claimed that “no explanation had been given” about the Party’s decision not to include him in its candidate shortlist, it was reported that the exclusion stemmed from his appearance at an “In Conversation” event with the outspoken film director Ken Loach at a Newcastle theatre in March.
Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”
In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has generally not fulfilled this pledge.
The decision to bar Mr Driscoll was greeted with a backlash, including by the far-left Unite union, which warned of “serious consequences” of the decision, and, reportedly, by thousands of supporters. In addition, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also criticised the decision to bar Mr Driscoll.
Asked in an interview, Mr Driscoll said that he has not read the full report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant in the investigation that led to the report.
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’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
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.
