The party leaders’ failure to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia shames our politics

Whether Labour or the Conservatives have it worse is irrelevant: both parties have substantial problems that warrant serious attention

It is lazy and inappropriate to compare the Conservative Party’s demonstrable problem to Islamophobia with Labour’s antisemitism problem.

While both are forms of racism, each has its unique roots and features; each demands separate and special attention; and each of our two main parties has its own history and methods of addressing it – or of not doing so, as the case may be. Indeed, one commonality of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the Labour and Tory parties is the failure to punish the culprits and, moreover, to change a culture that has allowed these racisms to engrain themselves within sections of both parties.

It is not necessary to indulge in “whataboutery” where these social evils are concerned, however. Whether Labour or the Conservatives have it worse is irrelevant: this is not a competition. What is relevant is that both parties have substantial problems that warrant serious attention.

This begs the question of why so little is done. (Of course, this is a question not just of principle but of pragmatism: racism is politically embarrassing and electorally damaging.) Again, there are differences and parallels in the parties’ responses – the latter being the more concerning. While leading Labour figures such as Lord Mann and Tom Watson have openly affirmed accusations of antisemitism in the party, the leader himself has too often proven reluctant to do so, or even to apologise for the distress these allegations have caused.

Yet the Jewish Labour Movement’s submission to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which is conducting an inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party, suggests that at least some of these allegations – of inaction at best, a cover-up at worst – are well-founded. Stories about party officials moving data on USB sticks rather than by email in order to avoid official channels are disturbing, and do not suggest the kind of transparent internal procedures that have been claimed.

Nor is this the worst of the party’s failures in dealing with antisemitism. The Chakrabarti Inquiry of 2016 failed to properly address the issue, in part thanks to its stubborn refusal to accept it as a unique one. Then there’s the question of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which Labour’s national executive committee took far too long to adopt, in part thanks to the belief in some Labour circles that the state of Israel is indeed a racist endeavour.

However, Labour’s inaction and denial has been mirrored in Tory ranks. Islamophobia is a serious enough problem for the Conservatives to act on it with urgency. Indeed, Baroness Warsi has done excellent work in drawing attention to Tory Islamophobia on social media, including from 15 current and 10 former Conservative councillors, who could be part of a much bigger problem. These people equate Islam with terrorism and openly question the loyalties of British Muslims, regurgitating prejudices imbibed from right-wing media, in particular its more virulent and unregulated online outlets. Meanwhile, a former journalist well known for making offensive comments about Muslims is currently occupied as the leader of the party.

Yet the Tories have not acted, urgently or otherwise. The party’s long-promised internal enquiry into Islamophobia has been watered down to one covering all kinds of prejudice, and shows no signs of materialising any time soon.

A generous interpretation would put these failures of both parties down to bureaucratic inertia; yet, even allowing for due process, this is something that ought to have been fixed years ago. Others blame adversarial politics; yet this is a moral challenge that ought to transcend it. The problem is one of leadership. If Boris Johnson wanted to more effectively address Islamophobia in his party, Jeremy Corbyn in his, they could. The problem is, they don’t.