“Rising star” Labour councillor resigns from the Party over antisemitism crisis

A North Tyneside councillor has added her name to the growing list of members who have left the Labour Party in response to its handling of the antisemitism crisis.

Frances Weetman, who was elected in 2016 to represent Tynemouth and has been described as a “rising star” of the Labour Party, will now sit as an independent, saying she feels unable to justify remaining in the Labour Party after it has not “done enough to safeguard the Jewish community and alleviate concerns.”

“It took far too long for the IHRA definition of antisemitism to be put in place,” Ms Weetman stated, and recommended a number of steps the Labour Party needed to take to restore trust with Jewish voters, including improvements to complaint procedures, dealing with reported cases of antisemitism swiftly, and  giving the Jewish community the right to define what is antisemitic.

On Sunday Ms Weetham tweeted her support for the demonstration against antisemitism being held in Manchester.

Asked whether she believes that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite, Ms Weetman responded: “I think he’s engaged in anti-Semitic tropes but whether that means he would deliberately persecute the Jewish community I’m genuinely unsure.”

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is very sad that yet another member of the Labour Party has felt morally compelled to leave because the party that was once fiercely antiracist when they joined has now become infested with antisemitism.”