Martin Forde QC’s inquiry has found that the issue of anti-Semitism within Labour was treated like a ‘weapon’ by both the left and right wings of the party while Jeremy Corbyn was leader.
The report pointed to ‘general toxicity’ within Labour HQ as tensions rose between Corbyn’s office and other staff. Forde’s inquiry states that, instead of confronting the issue of anti-Semitism within the party, it was instead used in factional arguments.
‘A means of attacking’
Forde’s investigation began in April 2020 when 860 pages of a dossier dated to March 2020 was leaked, containing WhatsApp messages that suggested that some Labour staff had been opposed to Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to win the 2017 general election – and, crucially, that these staff had attempted to prevent efforts to address anti-Semitism within the party.
Examination of the dossier revealed ‘no evidence’ of anti-Semitism being tackled differently to any other type of complaint, and blamed ‘factional opposition’ towards Corbyn’s position as leader of the Party.
The report found that factionalism was ‘endemic’ within Labour: ‘The evidence clearly demonstrated that a vociferous faction in the party sees any issues regarding anti-Semitism as exaggerated by the right to embarrass the left.
‘It was of course also true that some opponents of Jeremy Corbyn saw the issue of anti-Semitism as a means of attacking him.
‘Thus, rather than confront the paramount need to deal with the profoundly serious issue of anti-Semitism in the party, both factions treated it as a factional weapon.’
‘Keir Starmer is now in control’
Furthermore, the Forde Report states that the disciplinary process within Labour was ‘not fit for purpose’ and ‘potentially prone to factional interference,’ as well as criticising a ‘culture of intellectual smugness which exists at the extremes of the political spectrum’ within Labour.
In a response, a spokesperson for Labour told the BBC: ‘The Forde report details a party that was out of control.
‘Keir Starmer is now in control and has made real progress in ridding the party of the destructive factionalism and unacceptable culture that did so much damage previously and contributed to our defeat in 2019.’
Yet in another statement, Mr Corbyn said: ‘In any party there are groups and factions, but the resistance we were faced with went far beyond that.’
Corbyn also pointed out that the Forde Report illustrates that Labour needs to ‘decide what it is for.’
‘Are we a democratic socialist party, run by members and affiliated unions, that aims for a fundamental transfer of wealth and power from the few to the many?
‘Or are we something else?’