Third of voters may not vote for Labour because of alleged anti-Semitism, poll suggests

Finding comes as Ken Livingstone faces disciplinary hearing over 'anti-Jewish' comments

Benjamin Kentish

Thursday 30 March 2017 22:27 BST

Ken Livingstone is facing disciplinary charges after claiming Adolf Hitler supported Zionism (Getty)

Allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour are putting more than a third of British voters off supporting the party, a new poll suggests.

The survey, conducted by ComRes on behalf of the Jewish News newspaper, found 34 per cent of voters said reports of anti-Jewish sentiment made them “think twice” about voting Labour.

That figure rises to 50 per cent among current Conservative voters, 43 per cent for Liberal Democrats and 34 per cent among Ukip backers. Fourteen per cent of Labour voters say they are deterred from supporting the party because of alleged anti-Semitism within its ranks.

The finding comes as an internal Labour disciplinary hearing begins looking into allegations that Ken Livingstone made comments “grossly detrimental to the Labour Party” after he suggested Adolf Hitler supported Zionism.

Mr Livingstone has been suspended by Labour since making the comments last April. He has consistently stood by his remarks, claiming he was simply stating historical facts.

In his defence submission ahead of the hearing, he claimed he was being targeted by “supporters of Israel” who were attempting to “silence” his criticism of the Jewish state’s “aggression”, and called the disciplinary hearing “absurd”.

According to the ComRes poll, 29 per cent of voters believe the former London mayor should be expelled from the party, while 20 per cent disagree.

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

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1/14Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Israel and Palestine

The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and there’s one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but it’s like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Antisemitism in the Labour Party

As I’ve said, I’ve never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but there’s been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Naz Shah

It’s completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I don’t think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I don’t believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they won’t find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. We’ve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members we’ve found who are antisemitic, she’ll be expelled

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On other alleged antisemites in Labour

That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an ‘international Jewish conspiracy’ – that is the reason we need to have an investigation. I’ve got an open mind. I’ve seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldn’t have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah

That’s a statement of fact – Hitler, I’m sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that … it’s history … literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. She’s not saying it’s legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On another alleged antisemite in Labour

No, that is, and that’s why she’s been suspended or expelled. What I’ve said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings I’ve been in I’ve never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people you’ll have a handful of antisemites, you’ll have a handful of racists. You’ve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. I’ve never met any of these people. There’s not a problem. You’re talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the allegations

He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. There’s been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet … many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London

This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regent’s Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I can’t equate what I heard him say… he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I don’t investigate people. I’ve simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On John Mann’s comments

He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that I’m a racist antisemite in my ear. I’ve had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. I’m not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What I’m saying is don’t confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On calling a Jewish journalist a “concentration camp guard” whilst Mayor of London

I can’t tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying ‘I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic’. We won the case

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On claims about Hitler and Zionism

I can’t tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying ‘I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic’. We won the case

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On John Mann

I’d simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, you’ve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On raising the issue if Hitler

It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. I’ve always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is we’ve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, they’ve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On people calling for him to be suspended

All my usual critics – but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. I’ve always opposed every form of racism whether it’s against black people or Jews. I’m going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life

Justin Cohen, news editor of Jewish News, said: "The fact that a majority of voters with a view on Ken's fate - including a quarter of those still prepared to vote Labour - say he should be expelled speaks directly to the charge he faces of making comments detrimental to the Labour Party.

"Every time he opens his mouth he seems to bring the party and the leader he professes to care so much about into further disrepute. It's time the party severed ties with this serial offender if it cares at all about its relationship with the Jewish community and about upholding its own rules.

"Ken Livingstone may be able to wheel out five Jews to defend him, but this doesn't deflect from the alienation that many in the Kewish community, including lifelong-Labour voters, currently feel about the party."

Of those surveyed by ComRes, 28 per cent think the Labour Party has “a particular problem” with anti-Semitism, compared to 22 per cent who say it does not.

Fewer than one in five voters (18 per cent) think Labour is currently “doing enough” to tackle anti-Semitism within the party.

And in a blow to Jeremy Corbyn, more voters felt the party had a stronger “sense of common decency” under former leader Tony Blair than under the current leadership.

A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn told The Independent: "Jeremy and the Labour Party have consistently spoken out against all forms of anti-Semitism and condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, which is why we set up the Chakrabarti inquiry into anti-Semitism and the Party is implementing its findings."