This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/28/jeremy-corbyn-denies-labour-crisis-over-antisemitism
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Jeremy Corbyn denies Labour crisis over antisemitism | Jeremy Corbyn denies Labour crisis over antisemitism |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has denied there is a crisis over antisemitism within Labour, as the party suspended its former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, for inflammatory remarks about Hitler supporting Zionism. | |
| Related: Labour suspends Ken Livingstone over Hitler and antisemitism row - Politics live | |
| The Labour leader said it was wrong to suggest the party was failing to tackle antisemitism after it took disciplinary action against Livingstone and Naz Shah, the Bradford West MP. | The Labour leader said it was wrong to suggest the party was failing to tackle antisemitism after it took disciplinary action against Livingstone and Naz Shah, the Bradford West MP. |
| The furore has overshadowed the last few days, with less than a week to go before the local elections, as a string of MPs and peers have claimed the leadership has not acted strongly enough against members making antisemitic remarks. | The furore has overshadowed the last few days, with less than a week to go before the local elections, as a string of MPs and peers have claimed the leadership has not acted strongly enough against members making antisemitic remarks. |
| Asked whether the party was in crisis, Corbyn said: “It’s not a crisis. There’s no crisis. Where there is any racism in the party it will be dealt with and rooted out. I have been an anti-racist campaigner all my life.” | Asked whether the party was in crisis, Corbyn said: “It’s not a crisis. There’s no crisis. Where there is any racism in the party it will be dealt with and rooted out. I have been an anti-racist campaigner all my life.” |
| Questioned further about whether the party had a “problem with antisemitism”, Corbyn said: “No, there is not a problem. We are totally opposed to antisemitism in any form within the party. | Questioned further about whether the party had a “problem with antisemitism”, Corbyn said: “No, there is not a problem. We are totally opposed to antisemitism in any form within the party. |
| “The very small number of cases that have been brought to our attention have been dealt with swiftly and immediately, and they will be.” | “The very small number of cases that have been brought to our attention have been dealt with swiftly and immediately, and they will be.” |
| The Labour leader said it was “very sad” that Livingstone had to be suspended because of “concerns about the language used” but it was his responsibility to lead the party. | The Labour leader said it was “very sad” that Livingstone had to be suspended because of “concerns about the language used” but it was his responsibility to lead the party. |
| He also suggested those arguing that Labour was in crisis could be motivated by nervousness about the strength of the party under his leadership. | |
| “The party membership is the biggest it has been in my lifetime. There are 400,000 individual members, there’s 100,000 affiliated supporters, there are 3 million affiliated trade union members,” he said. | “The party membership is the biggest it has been in my lifetime. There are 400,000 individual members, there’s 100,000 affiliated supporters, there are 3 million affiliated trade union members,” he said. |
| “It’s a very big organisation and I suspect that much of this criticism that you are saying about a crisis in the party actually comes from those who are nervous of the strength of the Labour party at local level.” | “It’s a very big organisation and I suspect that much of this criticism that you are saying about a crisis in the party actually comes from those who are nervous of the strength of the Labour party at local level.” |