Labour suspends members over motion backing Jeremy Corbyn

13 November 2020, 16:47

The Labour Party has suspended a number of members who have passed a motion criticising the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn for his reaction to the damning report into anti-Semitism within the party during his leadership.

The group from the Bristol West constituency Labour party (CLP) is now facing disciplinary action for the motion, which said the former leader's treatment was part of a "politically motivated attack against the left" of the party.

It has also been suggested by a Labour source that the recent suspensions were related to allegations of abuse on social media.

The source said: "We will not tolerate abuse of Labour Party staff in person or on social media."

It comes after Mr Corbyn was suspended from Labour last month for his reaction to a damning anti-Semitism report that found the party broke equality law during his tenure.

He had refused to accept the findings from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), saying anti-Semitism had been "dramatically overstated for political reasons".

The Bristol West CLP motion, approved on Monday, later spurred the constituency on to write to new party leader Sir Keir Starmer, condemning Mr Corbyn's suspension.

It also demanded the former leader be re-instated.

As a result, the constituency party chair and co-secretary are believed to be among those who have since been suspended, as well as a number of other members.

A party source said on Friday: "It is a long-standing position that motions on individual disciplinary matters are not competent CLP business.

"This is important to protect the integrity of disciplinary processes and is consistent with similar rulings made by Jennie Formby when she was general secretary."