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Frank Field: Labour MP says anti-Semitism is 'more than tolerated' in party Frank Field considers triggering by-election in Birkenhead
(about 2 hours later)
Frank Field has told constituents he quit the Labour whip because of the party's "appalling culture". Veteran MP Frank Field has said he is considering triggering a by-election in his Birkenhead constituency.
The veteran MP, who has represented Birkenhead for nearly 40 years, said under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership it was now "a party where anti-Semitism is more than tolerated". He has quit the Labour whip over the leadership's handling of anti-Semitism allegations but wants to continue sitting as an "independent Labour" MP.
He wrote in the Liverpool Echo it was with "considerable sadness" he left the party's group in Parliament. He also attacked the "culture of nastiness" in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
A Labour Party spokesman thanked Mr Field for his service to Labour. Mr Corbyn's supporters said he had quit because he was facing de-selection by local party members in Birkenhead.
Mr Field had been among the MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn for leader in 2015, but said he did so to ensure a "broad debate" on the leadership, and never expected him to win. He recently lost a vote of confidence organised by members angry at his support for the government in Brexit votes.
"My wish to see a more inclusive debate in the Labour Party could not have been more wide of the mark," he wrote. Mr Field, who has represented the Merseyside seat since 1979 and has faced previous efforts to de-select him, denied he had "jumped before he was pushed" and said he intended to fight the next general election as an independent Labour candidate.
He is expected to meet Labour's chief whip Nick Brown on Friday to discuss his options, having said he wishes to serve as an independent MP while remaining a member of the party. Labour sources have said this will not be possible, however. He told BBC Breakfast he would spend the "next few days" deciding whether to stand down as an MP to trigger a by-election, in which he would stand against an official Labour candidate.
Under the Parliamentary Labour Party standing orders, which governs MPs, anyone who takes such action as Mr Field will usually receive a letter asking them to retake the whip within two weeks - or face expulsion. "I will obviously make a decision about whether I should actually have a by-election or not… I will be in Birkenhead, people will be talking to me, coming up to me in the street to see whether they want me to have a by-election or not".
Mr Field quit the party's parliamentary group through a letter to Mr Brown on Thursday, saying the leadership is becoming "a force for anti-Semitism in British politics". Mr Field quit the party's parliamentary group through a letter to chief whip Nick Brown on Thursday, saying the leadership was becoming "a force for anti-Semitism in British politics".
The MP - who lost a confidence vote in his constituency party last month over his pro-Brexit stance - also blamed a "culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation" in local parties. A Labour Party spokesman has thanked Mr Field for his service to Labour, but the veteran MP told the BBC he had been thanked "as if I was resigning from a whist club", noting he had been in the party longer than leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for hurt caused by anti-Semitism in the party and pledged to stamp it out. The MP also blamed a "culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation" in local Labour parties.
A Labour source claimed that "Frank has been looking for an excuse to resign for some time". A Labour source said "Frank has been looking for an excuse to resign for some time" and, under party rules, he could not resign as a Labour MP and continue to be a member of the party.
In the article for his local newspaper, Mr Field said the reason he was one of the 36 MPs to nominate Mr Corbyn for the party leadership was "to be inclusive of the hard left, as these views have a legitimate place in Labour thinking". Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson described the resignation of Mr Field as a "serious loss to the party" and a "major wake up call".
But he added: "Following Jeremy's election as leader and the growth of party membership, which would in normal circumstances be welcome, we have become a party that displays intolerance, nastiness, and intimidation at all too many levels."
Complaints 'met with silence'
Mr Field said his constituency party was characterised by "sheer thuggery and blatant bullying" with "racist, ageist and sexist" intolerance.
He also said his complaints to the national party about it had been "met with silence" and such behaviour "is a cause for shame and is unacceptable" to him.
Mr Field, the one-time minister for welfare reform, lost a confidence vote by his constituency party after voting with the government over Brexit plans.
On Thursday, he denied he was "jumping before being pushed" and used the article to further condemn some local members.
He repeated that he would remain a member of Labour but added: "I cannot, through continuing to take the Labour whip, lend any legitimacy to the most appalling culture which is now dominating national and local Labour Party institutions."
Mr Field concluded the article by calling for two "major changes".
"First, the current excuses for its blatantly racist toleration of anti-Semitism must cease and we need to regain our position as being the leading force against racism in this country," he wrote.
"Second, the party must recognise the culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation that it has allowed to grow unchecked and expel local members whose public conduct is simply disgraceful."
Praise and criticism
A number of Mr Field's Labour colleagues have praised him and expressed their own concerns about their party.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson described the resignation as a "serious loss to the party" and a "major wake up call".
MP Mary Creagh said the fact Mr Field's local party wanted to deselect him "speaks volumes about the state of our party".
And fellow MP Siobhain McDonagh has described Frank Field as "a Labour warrior", telling BBC's Newsnight: "Don't we want in our politicians and our MPs mavericks who are prepared to stand up and say it as it is?"And fellow MP Siobhain McDonagh has described Frank Field as "a Labour warrior", telling BBC's Newsnight: "Don't we want in our politicians and our MPs mavericks who are prepared to stand up and say it as it is?"
He was also applauded by some Conservative MPs, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeting that he was "a man of integrity and principle".He was also applauded by some Conservative MPs, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeting that he was "a man of integrity and principle".
But Corbyn-supporting members of Labour have criticised Mr Field's decision.But Corbyn-supporting members of Labour have criticised Mr Field's decision.
MP Chris Williamson denounced his colleague's comments as "grotesque slurs, which have no basis in reality". "He's obviously lost the confidence of his members and he's now getting his excuses in, it seems to me, and throwing around grotesque slurs, which have no basis in reality," said MP Chris Williamson.
He told Newsnight: "The party has taken the issue of anti-Semitism very seriously; far more seriously than any other political party. "The party has taken the issue of anti-Semitism very seriously; far more seriously than any other political party.
"It's so sad to see someone like Frank Field trashing Labour's anti-racist record"."It's so sad to see someone like Frank Field trashing Labour's anti-racist record".
And Labour's shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Mr Field should face a by-election.And Labour's shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Mr Field should face a by-election.
Labour has been dealing with a row about the extent of anti-Semitism within the party for more than two years.Labour has been dealing with a row about the extent of anti-Semitism within the party for more than two years.
A 2016 inquiry, carried out by Shami Chakrabarti, concluded that while the Labour Party was not overrun by anti-Semitism, there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".A 2016 inquiry, carried out by Shami Chakrabarti, concluded that while the Labour Party was not overrun by anti-Semitism, there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".
Recently, the focus has been on a new code of conduct the party has adopted on anti-Semitism, with critics concerned that it does not go as far as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's guidelines.Recently, the focus has been on a new code of conduct the party has adopted on anti-Semitism, with critics concerned that it does not go as far as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's guidelines.
Earlier this month, Mr Corbyn again apologised for hurt caused to Jewish people by anti-Semitism in his party and admitted Labour had been too slow in dealing with disciplinary cases.Earlier this month, Mr Corbyn again apologised for hurt caused to Jewish people by anti-Semitism in his party and admitted Labour had been too slow in dealing with disciplinary cases.
Mr Corbyn also stressed that people who hold anti-Semitic views "have no place in the Labour Party" and said people who use "anti-Semitic poison" are not his supporters, nor do they speak for him or the party.