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| Frank Field resigns Labour whip over antisemitism crisis | Frank Field resigns Labour whip over antisemitism crisis |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Frank Field, the veteran MP for Birkenhead, has resigned the Labour whip in protest against the party’s handling of antisemitism and what he called a “culture of nastiness” among the membership. | Frank Field, the veteran MP for Birkenhead, has resigned the Labour whip in protest against the party’s handling of antisemitism and what he called a “culture of nastiness” among the membership. |
| In a blistering letter to Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, tendering his resignation, Field said antisemitism alone was reason enough for his decision. “It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party,” he wrote. | In a blistering letter to Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, tendering his resignation, Field said antisemitism alone was reason enough for his decision. “It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party,” he wrote. |
| Field also highlighted what he called a “culture of nastiness, bullying, and intimidation”, saying this was at best ignored and at worst tacitly tolerated. | Field also highlighted what he called a “culture of nastiness, bullying, and intimidation”, saying this was at best ignored and at worst tacitly tolerated. |
| Field will continue to be a party member and to represent Birkenhead as an independent Labour MP, he added. However, a Labour party source said Field would meet Brown on Friday where he would be told he must resign his membership or be expelled from the party within 14 days. “It is not possible to resign as a Labour MP and remain a member of the Labour party,” the source said. | |
| The letter said Field was resigning the whip “with considerable sadness”, but that he could not return unless there were “great changes in the leadership’s stance on the issues outlined”. | The letter said Field was resigning the whip “with considerable sadness”, but that he could not return unless there were “great changes in the leadership’s stance on the issues outlined”. |
| Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, described Field’s decision as “a major wake-up call” for Labour. | Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, described Field’s decision as “a major wake-up call” for Labour. |
| Watson said: “This is a serious loss to the party and I deeply regret Frank’s decision. It reflects both deep divisions in the party and the sense of drift engulfing us. It is a major wake-up call. We cannot afford to lose people of such weight and stature.” | Watson said: “This is a serious loss to the party and I deeply regret Frank’s decision. It reflects both deep divisions in the party and the sense of drift engulfing us. It is a major wake-up call. We cannot afford to lose people of such weight and stature.” |
| An official party statement thanked Field for his service. However, a Labour source said: “Frank has been looking for an excuse to resign for some time.” The source said much of Field’s letter was connected to a complaint linked to his local party, which had been investigated and resolved. | |
| Field, a veteran backbench MP known for his expertise on welfare and poverty issues, has been criticised by some supporters of Jeremy Corbyn for his views, notably his backing for Brexit. Last month Field faced a vote of no confidence from his local party. | |
| He will become the third Labour MP to sit as an independent, after John Woodcock and Jared O’Mara separately resigned the whip over the party’s handling of misconduct claims against them. | He will become the third Labour MP to sit as an independent, after John Woodcock and Jared O’Mara separately resigned the whip over the party’s handling of misconduct claims against them. |
| In the letter, Field highlighted the controversy last week when comments by Corbyn from 2013 emerged in which the Labour leader said a group of Zionists had “no sense of irony” despite “having lived in this country for a very long time”. | In the letter, Field highlighted the controversy last week when comments by Corbyn from 2013 emerged in which the Labour leader said a group of Zionists had “no sense of irony” despite “having lived in this country for a very long time”. |
| This was, Field wrote to Brown, “the latest example of Labour’s leadership becoming a force for antisemitism In British politics”. | This was, Field wrote to Brown, “the latest example of Labour’s leadership becoming a force for antisemitism In British politics”. |
| “Britain fought the second world war to banish these views from our politics, but that superhuman effort and success is now under huge and sustained internal attack,” Field said. | “Britain fought the second world war to banish these views from our politics, but that superhuman effort and success is now under huge and sustained internal attack,” Field said. |
| “The leadership is doing nothing substantive to address this erosion of core values. It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party. This issue alone compels me to resign the whip.” | “The leadership is doing nothing substantive to address this erosion of core values. It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party. This issue alone compels me to resign the whip.” |
| Labour has been embroiled in a row about its handling of antisemitism, with Jewish leaders angry about the party’s failure to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, with all its examples, into a new party code of conduct. | Labour has been embroiled in a row about its handling of antisemitism, with Jewish leaders angry about the party’s failure to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, with all its examples, into a new party code of conduct. |
| On Wednesdaythree leading Jewish organisations wrote to Labour, calling on Jeremy Corbyn to end the “impasse” over tackling antisemitism in the Labour party, calling the abuse received by Jews on social media during the row this summer “unfathomably vast”. | On Wednesdaythree leading Jewish organisations wrote to Labour, calling on Jeremy Corbyn to end the “impasse” over tackling antisemitism in the Labour party, calling the abuse received by Jews on social media during the row this summer “unfathomably vast”. |
| The day before the former chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, said the Labour leader’s comment about Zionists at a 2013 conference was the most offensive statement by a senior UK politician since Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. Labour dismissed the comparison with Powell as “absurd and offensive”. | The day before the former chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, said the Labour leader’s comment about Zionists at a 2013 conference was the most offensive statement by a senior UK politician since Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. Labour dismissed the comparison with Powell as “absurd and offensive”. |
| In the letter, Field said bullying and intimidation were “sadly manifest within my own constituency Labour party (CLP) in Birkenhead”. | In the letter, Field said bullying and intimidation were “sadly manifest within my own constituency Labour party (CLP) in Birkenhead”. |
| He wrote: “This is, I fear, just one example of a phenomenon that has tightened its grip on CLPs across the country and is being driven, in part, by members who in previous years would never have been able to claim Labour party membership.” | He wrote: “This is, I fear, just one example of a phenomenon that has tightened its grip on CLPs across the country and is being driven, in part, by members who in previous years would never have been able to claim Labour party membership.” |
| Saying he had first highlighted specific bullying claims 18 months ago, Field added: “No decisive action has been taken. At best the party’s failure to act on these numerous complaints about the thuggish conduct of some members demonstrates a wilful denial. At worst it serves to legitimise appalling levels of bullying and intimidation of lifelong Labour supporters. | Saying he had first highlighted specific bullying claims 18 months ago, Field added: “No decisive action has been taken. At best the party’s failure to act on these numerous complaints about the thuggish conduct of some members demonstrates a wilful denial. At worst it serves to legitimise appalling levels of bullying and intimidation of lifelong Labour supporters. |
| Field, who has represented Birkenhead since 1979, has spent virtually all his career as an MP on the backbenches, where he has built a reputation as an expert on social security and combating poverty. | Field, who has represented Birkenhead since 1979, has spent virtually all his career as an MP on the backbenches, where he has built a reputation as an expert on social security and combating poverty. |
| He spent a sometimes frustrating year as minister for welfare reform under Tony Blair, and is currently chair of the work and pensions committee, where he has been a fierce and repeated critic of the rollout of universal credit, saying payment delays and other mishaps are forcing many users into debt, and to rely on food banks. | He spent a sometimes frustrating year as minister for welfare reform under Tony Blair, and is currently chair of the work and pensions committee, where he has been a fierce and repeated critic of the rollout of universal credit, saying payment delays and other mishaps are forcing many users into debt, and to rely on food banks. |
| Under Field, the committee has also strongly criticised the actions of Carillion before the company, which supplied many public services, went bust. | Under Field, the committee has also strongly criticised the actions of Carillion before the company, which supplied many public services, went bust. |
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