Senior Labour MP Frank Field resigns whip over anti-Semitism row
Frank Field said Labour had become a "force for anti-Semitism" but stopped short of calling leader Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite.
Friday 31 August 2018 06:10, UK
Frank Field has resigned the Labour whip, accusing the party leadership of becoming "a force for anti-Semitism in British politics".
The prominent backbencher said he was quitting to stand as an "independent Labour" MP because of a "series of attempts" by leader Jeremy Corbyn to deny previous statements were anti-Semitic.
Mr Field said soldiers fought in the Second World War to "banish these views" but that the Labour leadership was "doing nothing substantive" to address the "erosion of our core values".
He called on Labour to "regain its position as being the leading force against racism in this country".
A spokeman for Mr Corbyn claimed Mr Field "has been looking for an excuse to resign for some time", adding that it was not possible to resign as a Labour MP and remain a member of the party.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson called the departure a "serious loss" and said it "reflects both the deep divisions in the party and the sense of drift engulfing us".
"It is a major wake up call," he added.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Field said he did not believe Mr Corbyn is an anti-Semite, but urged the party to reform.
He said: "I have been in the Labour party for 60 years, probably longer than Jeremy, why should I leave?
"I have not been plotting to have another go - I have not been party to any plotting, I don't know if it is true or not, I'm not trying to persuade anyone to follow me, I do want Labour, with Jeremy as the leader, to be the great anti-racist force in this country in the next election.
"We are not going to be coshed into submission by a tiny tiny group."
He added: "This is dead serious, I have operated politics like that before, but I am after these changes. We have been the great anti-racist force in this country and we must be seen like that."
He confessed that comments from the UK's former chief rabbi earlier this week had been the straw that broke the camel's back, saying: "The Jewish community is desperately worried about our behaviour.
"I hope Jeremy will adopt the international convention. He must sign up to the convention and we must be able to criticise the government of Israel, but not in an anti-Semitic way."
Mr Field, who has been an MP for 39 years and represents Birkenhead in the House of Commons, announced his decision in a letter to Labour's chief whip, Nick Brown.
He said the leadership needed to "recognise the culture of nastiness, bullying, and intimidation that it has allowed to grow unchecked and expel local members whose public conduct is simply disgraceful".
The veteran Labour MP will meet Mr Brown for showdown talks on Friday to discuss his options after resigning the whip.
Labour sources have said Field's wish to serve as an independent MP while remaining a member of the party is "not possible".
Under the Parliamentary Labour Party standing orders which governs MPs, anyone who takes such action will usually get a letter asking them to retake the party whip within 14 days or face expulsion.
Conservative chair Brandon Lewis challenged other Labour MPs to follow Mr Field or they would "continue to endorse Jeremy Corbyn's failure to act" on bullying and anti-Semtism.
He said: "Frank Field's resignation is a damning indictment of Jeremy Corbyn's total inability to take action against bullying and anti-Semitic racism within Labour.
"Despite promising a 'kinder politics', time and time again Corbyn has allowed people to get away with doing and saying things which have no place in public life."
Nigel Farage, the former leader of UKIP, also tweeted: "In an age when few politicians are respected, Frank Field is listened to by many, regardless of party. His resignation from Labour is significant."
Richard Burgon, Labour's shadow justice secretary, suggested Mr Field should either stand down or call a by-election.
He wrote on Twitter: "Politicians who are elected as Labour MPs by their constituents and who then leave the Labour Party should do the right and respectful thing and call a by-election straight away.
"They should ask for their constituents' consent to continue to represent them on a different basis."
In recent weeks, Mr Corbyn has come under fire for attacking British Zionists and comparing actions in the West Bank to World War Two occupations.
He continues to face pressure over Labour's new code of conduct, which does not implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition and examples of anti-Semitism in full.
Mr Field lost a vote of confidence by local members in his constituency association in July.
The long-time eurosceptic sided with the government to pass Brexit laws days before.
Mr Field hit back that his local party was trying to "misrepresent" his voting in the Commons as backing for the Conservative Party so they could get rid of him.
"It would have been a betrayal of the principles I have held for my entire political life, had I voted against the legislation two weeks ago," he said at the time.