After a torrid few weeks for the Labour party over alleged incidents of anti-Semitism, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel – at least for the party’s moderates. As allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour spiralled, Corbyn’s close ally Christine Shawcroft had to resign on Wednesday as chair of Labour’s disputes panel for defending a candidate who posted a Holocaust denial article. Now Shawcroft has also resigned from her position on the party’s ruling committee.
Announcing her resignation, Shawcroft said her membership of the party’s National Executive Committee had ‘become a distraction for the party and an excuse for endless intrusive media harassment of myself, my family and friends’:
‘I reaffirm my complete opposition to anti-Semitism and my abhorrence of Holocaust denial, and support all measures to tackle this within the party.’
There are two things to take from this. Firstly, although Shawcroft’s position is an elected position so only she could choose to leave it, the fact that she’s gone does suggest that Jeremy Corbyn at the very least supported his close ally’s decision. All the signs from the Leader’s Office over the past week suggest that they are now keen to take clear action to try and change the narrative and show that Corbyn is taking allegations on the issue seriously. However, as Corbyn’s Jewish News interview (where the paper branded his answers ‘not good enough’) demonstrated, there is a feeling that it too little, too late.
Secondly, this is good new for the Labour moderates. With Shawcroft out, that post goes to the person with the next largest number of votes and that person is Eddie Izzard (for a record of the comedian’s previously unsuccessful attempts to win a position within the party look to Steerpike). His appointment today is a clear win for the moderates. In the January election, the three available posts all went to Momentum candidates – including key Corbyn ally Jon Lansman. This meant the National Executive Committee was tipped in Corbyn’s favour. Izzard’s appointment means there will be one more voice – and vote – for the centrists.
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