Where have they been for the past five years? New Shadow Cabinet frontbencher Kate Green’s record on antisemitism
Campaign Against Antisemitism previously published first-of-its-kind research on the records of every frontbench Shadow Cabinet member on antisemitism. Following Kate Green’s promotion to Shadow Education Secretary after the sacking by Sir Keir Starmer of Rebecca Long-Bailey for promoting an article containing an antisemitic trope, we have investigated her record over the past five years.
As we pointed out in our analysis of the records of other Shadow Cabinet members, the deepest stain on the records of each of the new members is their overall inaction during the years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership despite the Labour Party’s descent into racism. They were bystanders when several Jewish colleagues were hounded out of the Party, and they stood by too when principled colleagues made the difficult decision to leave the Party because they could not countenance campaigning for the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn to become Prime Minister, which all of the new members of the Shadow Cabinet did at the end of last year. Indeed some members of Sir Keir’s Shadow Cabinet served in Mr Corbyn’s. Collectively, they have a mountain to climb in order to reclaim the authority to speak out against antisemitism — or indeed any form of prejudice.
Some of Sir Keir’s Shadow Cabinet members have long records on antisemitism – whether positive, negative or mixed – but it is equally telling when their records are short, as it signifies just how little they did as their once fiercely anti-racist Party became mired in anti-Jewish hatred.
Turning to Ms Green, she served briefly in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities in the first few months of his leadership.
She has been vocal in her disgust at antisemitism in the Labour Party, showing solidarity with then-Labour MP Luciana Berger on multiple occasions, opposing Ken Livingstone’s statements and declaring that she was “sickened” by statements by the disgraced then-Labour MP Chris Williamson.
Ms Green also attended a rally against antisemitism in the Labour Party.
However, Ms Green campaigned for the controversial Labour candidate Lisa Forbes, despite her deeply problematic social media activity. Ms Green later stated: “I know Jewish members are disappointed and angry that I did so, and are concerned that they can no longer trust me to stand up for them. I feel deep regret that my action has lost me trust among Jewish members and friends. I have been spending time this week speaking to community leaders and parliamentary colleagues about the steps I and the Party must take to rebuild the trust we have lost.”
Ms Green appeared to show confidence in Mr Corbyn’s and Labour’s capacity to address the antisemitism crisis.
She welcomed the investigation of antisemitism in the Labour Party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which was launched following a complaint by Campaign Against Antisemitism. Ms Green wrote that the Party must “take immediate action in response to any actions or rectifications the EHRC recommends”.
During the election campaign, Ms Green expressed her shame that a local voter supporting Mr Corbyn had indulged in antisemitism.
On 28th May 2019, the EHRC launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.
In the first release of its Antisemitism in Political Parties research, Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that Labour Party candidates for Parliament in the 2019 general election accounted for 82 percent of all incidents of antisemitic discourse by parliamentary candidates.
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.
