Labour launched its ‘Race & Faith Manifesto’ earlier today amid a storm of criticism over the party’s anti-Semitism problem. The latest person to condemn Jeremy Corbyn is the chief rabbi, who questioned whether the Labour leader is fit to become prime minister. During today’s event in north London, Corbyn hit back, insisting that under his government ‘no community will be at risk because of their identity’.
The party had hoped the mini-manifesto launch would focus attention on policy ideas such as a wholesale review of the Prevent strategy or the scrapping of random stop and searches.
But it didn’t go to plan. Outside the venue in Tottenham, activists had parked up trucks with phrases such as ‘A vote for Labour is a vote for racism’.
Inside, proceedings kicked off in an almost evangelical spirit. A gospel choir sang Tracy Chapman’s ‘Talkin’ bout a Revolution’ before David Lammy, the Labour candidate for the constituency, took to the stage to with the churchly phrase ‘we are gathered here on this momentous day’.

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