Corbyn leadership bows before Blairite’s anti-Semitism witch-hunt
By
Robert Stevens
9 February 2019
Labour’s Blairite right-wing has doubled down on its smear campaign against party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters, citing bogus claims of widespread anti-Semitism on “the left.”
On Monday evening, MPs making up the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) passed a motion giving Corbyn a week to tackle cases of anti-Semitism in the party and report back to them on the handling of any disciplinary action.
The motion was proposed by Catherine McKinnell and seconded by Ruth Smeeth, who have played a central role in the attempts to smear Corbyn and force his resignation.
Smeeth was exposed in a WikiLeaks publication of US embassy diplomatic cables as a “strictly protect” asset.
Labour’s general secretary and close supporter of Corbyn, Jennie Formby, was subjected to hysterical tirades at the meeting by right-wing MPs who denounced a letter from her stating that since her appointment last April, any genuine cases of anti-Semitism in the party had been dealt with. Labour had managed to “clear all of the previously outstanding anti-Semitism cases from the investigation and disputes panel stages of the process,” she wrote.
Just short of calling Formby a liar, Wes Streeting MP said her statement “stretches the boundaries of credibility.”
The aim of the latest offensive is clear. Just two days before the meeting, the Observer reported that it had been told “at least six” leading Labour right-wingers were preparing to set up a breakaway party. The MPs were opposed to “Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership on Brexit and other key issues including immigration, foreign policy and antisemitism,” it noted.
Among those named as part of the six were Angela Smith, Chris…