A defiant Jeremy Corbyn has ignored any suggestion of a crisis within British Labour after an eighth MP quit the party yesterday, amid more allegations of anti-Semitism.
Veteran parliamentarian Joan Ryan joined seven MPs who formed the Independent Group earlier this week, saying her resignation from the Labour Party was prompted because under Mr Corbyn there was a hatred of Israel.
“It’s obviously not a delight, it’s painful,” she said of her resignation. “But it is a duty. I wasn’t elected as a Labour MP to watch this happen, and I have no choice but to stand up to it. For me this is a moral issue.”
Young Labour then tweeted: “Joan Ryan Gone — Palestine Lives.”
Another Labour MP, Ruth George, suggested it was possible that Israel had been financially backing the Independent Group, before she backed down on the claim and issued an apology.
But the Opposition Leader ignored the widespread allegations that Labour had serious problems with Jews and tried to downplay the growing schism in the party by insisting the rebels simply “decided to go elsewhere’’.
One of the rebels, Luciana Berger, said: “Despite my very best efforts, I have seen the Labour Party allow anti-Semitism to take root and fester. I see no evidence that there is zero tolerance towards anti-Semites in Labour’s ranks.’’
Read the article by Jacquelin Magnay, Foreign Correspondent in The Australian.