Dawn Butler says Labour’s response to Forde is not good enough
JVL Introduction
In the Leaked Report it was revealed that Dawn Butler had been mocked by senior members of staff within the Labour Party.
So too, and much worse, had Clive Lewis and Diane Abbott.
Martin Forde QC was frank that these “expressions of visceral disgust, drawing (consciously or otherwise) on racist tropes, [and they] bear little resemblance to the criticisms of white male MPs elsewhere in the messages.”
And she points out that miraculously, these staff members remain Labour Party members and some are working in senior positions in the Labour movement.
The Met has recently begun to clean up its act.
Does the Labour Party, asks Butler poignantly, have a greater tolerance for bigotry than the Met Police?
This article was originally published by The Voice on Mon 25 Jul 2022. Read the original here.
Dawn Butler: Labour needs to do better, and the Forde report is the opportunity
Dawn Butler writes that Labour’s response to the inquiry findings was not good enough
IN APRIL 2020 I was notified by party staff that I was mentioned in a leaked internal report from Labour Party HQ.
This leaked report would lead to an establishing of an independent investigation called the Forde Inquiry.
The leaked report revealed that senior staff in the Party HQ had apparently mocked me for raising issues of racism within the Party.
I often had a feeling that my concerns were not being taken seriously, but was afraid to say in case I was seen as paranoid. But seeing it written down in black and white, being mocked by senior members of staff within the party made me feel sad and let down.
The Forde Report, now published, is a thorough and considered piece of work that vindicates my stance: the party did and does have an ongoing problem.
As the Forde Report says: “there are serious problems of discrimination in the operations of the party”.
This is not easy to acknowledge. I understand the resistance, but it is vital to acknowledge if we are to improve and move forward as a Party. We need to be our best selves as we get ready to govern the country.
Proud
Don’t get me wrong, the Labour Party has often been at the forefront of tackling racism, we have more ethnic minority MPs than ever and in 2007, I became the first black woman minister to speak from the despatch box in the House of Commons.
The Labour Party should be incredibly proud of this historical moment. But that shouldn’t lead to complacency, and it definitely doesn’t mean the fight against racism and discrimination is done.
The reality is despite the Parliamentary Labour Party being the most diverse party, the Conservatives have been able to encourage a diverse range of candidates to lead their party and defacto become the Prime Minister.
The Labour Party needs to do better, and the Forde report gives us an opportunity to be better.
It wasn’t just me who was derided in the leaked report. My colleague Clive Lewis was also discussed in deeply offensive and derogatory ways by senior party staff, but worst of all Diane Abbott – Britain’s first black woman MP – was abused in terms that have no place in the Labour Party.
Martin Forde QC was frank about these “expressions of visceral disgust, drawing (consciously or otherwise) on racist tropes, and they bear little resemblance to the criticisms of white male MPs elsewhere in the messages.”
Priority
Other MPs and senior staff were mocked in grossly misogynistic terms by this same group of senior party workers.
Miraculously, these staff members remain Labour Party members and some are working in senior positions in the Labour movement.
Forde does not comment directly on this but says poignantly, “we note the recent cases of members of the police being sanctioned as a result of sharing material in WhatsApp groups.” Does the Labour Party have a greater tolerance for bigotry than the Met Police?
It would lead some to question whether the Party only believes in zero tolerance in some cases of discrimination and not others. Forde does question it and unfortunately concludes the party is “operating a hierarchy of racism or discrimination with other forms of racism being ignored. For a Party which seeks to be a standard bearer of progressive politics … this is an untenable situation.”
It is not just anti-black racism which appears to be a lower priority, the Labour Muslim Network – representing Muslim members in the party responded: “It is difficult to read this report and reach any other conclusion than there being institutional Islamophobia within the Labour Party.”
Complaints
And that is the other key point made by Forde. The Labour Party HQ does not operate as Forde argues it should with “expected neutrality … serving in effect as the party’s civil service”.
The whole disciplinary proceedings are a factional tool – and so any form of discrimination can be accused depending on the perpetrator and their factional allegiance.
As Forde states, “factionalism had played an important and destructive role in the Party’s mishandling of antisemitism complaints”. The system remains far from independent, which to be fair I had said would be the case, but it’s clear that this system is far from fair and far from even-handed.
So, I was disgusted when I saw a quote from a Labour Party spokesperson, claiming, “The Forde Report details a party that was out of control. Keir Starmer is now in control and has made real progress in ridding the party of the destructive factionalism and unacceptable culture that did so much damage.”
This is a completely nose-blind statement and it is disappointing to all of us who want to make the party a safe space for all.
This triumphalist, “it was all the last lot” ignores two vital findings of the report: firstly, Forde documents how factional the HQ team was that Jeremy Corbyn inherited as leader, “by 2015, the majority of the Party’s senior staff did not see their roles as requiring perfect neutrality, or even the appearance of it”
And secondly, Forde sends a message to the current leadership insisting, “we do have continuing concerns – in particular, in relation to the use of lengthy administrative suspensions”, adding “further reform of the party’s disciplinary system is required”.
Jeremy Corbyn made mistakes and I am surprised that Keir and his team seem set on repeating the same mistakes.
It is important to note that racism isn’t ended by a change of leader, and neither is factionalism. It requires hard, pain-staking cultural challenge – an acknowledgement of the problem and an open mind committed to real and lasting cultural change.
It takes a commitment for all to examine their own behaviours and biases.
The aftermath of the Forde Report should have been a moment to reflect and to learn. Instead, in true Labour Party fashion, the leadership has made it a factional issue and sidelined the racism in all levels of the Party structure that the report uncovered.
It is just not good enough. I know many MPs and members feel the same as me, and we will do that work to make our Party better. I just hope that the leadership take the report and my initial response seriously and there’s not a repeat of the ridicule when I previously raised concerns.
Dawn Butler is far too civilized in her comments about Labour Party reaction to the Forde report. Leadership do not seem to regard all racism as equally worthy of condemnation. In fact it is only their particular version of what they regard as “antisemitism” that causes a disproportionate outrage. It seems that the appalling racist abuse directed at Diane Abbot is of little interest to the leadership while even the mildest comment that could be interpreted as antisemitic is a sacking offence.
Hypocrisy and double standards prevail.
The Labour Party is now fully enlisted in the service of the state, offering what people misguidedly believe to be a platform for liberal views when in reality it is dedicated to churning out covert state propaganda. In other words, Labour has become a political version of The Guardian. Below the line and elsewhere you will often see posters and pundits using the result of the 2019 election to claim that Corbyn was always hugely unpopular in the country. 2017 is of course firmly memory-holed as if it never happened, as are the polls that continued to show Labour well in the lead throughout 2018. The collapse of Labour support began in earnest once the blatantly undemocratic People’s Vote campaign took over the party, helped along most notably by that earnest convert to Brexiteering Keir Starmer. The scurrilous accusations of antisemitism aimed at Corbyn and his supporters also played a part, and again Starmer has been instrumental in getting these smears accepted as fact. They have become his go-to excuse for everything that was wrong with the Party during the Corbyn years and beyond, and if he loses the next General Election it is Corbyn and antisemitism that he will blame.
The Forde report clearly states that Starmer is operating a distinct hierarchy of racism, with antisemitism the only prejudice he chooses to mention. Starmer will never acknowledge this fact, and will do nothing to implement Forde’s corrective recommendations. The great majority of the PLP supports him in this, and he is working to rig the selection process so that the proportion of right-wing MPs favorable to him increases until no socialists are left. Owing to the composition of the PLP these tactics appear to be succeeding; as of today the Labour Party no longer functions as a voice for the low-paid, the disadvantaged, the refugee, the sick, the disabled, the unions and those who want to see the rail, water and energy companies back in public hands. But given the relation of politics to the times, this may prove to be a serious miscalculation… [this comment was cut at this point for reasons of length – JVL web]
The idea of a “hierarchy of racism” is pernicious. Taking antisemitism seriously need not (as some on both sides of the argument seem to think) be at the expense of opposing other kinds of racism.
This – From a member of JC’s inner team, writing in this weekend’s ‘Morning Star’ – is very telling, especially by way of contrast with some other left-wing responses to the Forde report:
“However, I do share (Forde’s) view – rejected as it is on parts of the left – that some of Corbyn’s supporters simply denied there was a problem with anti-semitism in the party, and that this inhibited necessary handling of what was a genuine issue, with the result that it bedevilled Corbyn’s leadership to the end.
“I saw too much evidence of anti-semitic attitudes, sometimes inadvertent ones, to disagree with Forde on that point. The ‘leaked report’ itself collated much of that evidence and Forde is right that its authors worked in good faith to challenge the ‘denial’ narrative” – Andrew Murray.
Nothing so far encourages me to reconsider rejoining LP…even if it would allow me back.
Not valid to compare Jeremy Corbyn to Keir Starmer Dawn.
Both side-ism is a nonsense. We all know how the Trot hunters in Labour HQ weaponised AntiSemitism. The tools they used. The thousands they targeted. If the left faction weaponised AS, how did they do it? With what disciplinary procedures? Who did they summarily suspend, persecute, expel?
“Jeremy Corbyn made mistakes and I am surprised that Keir and his team seem set on repeating the same mistakes.”
What does that mean ?
Mistakes of factionalism ? That is the focus of the Forde report. This meally mouthed even handedness is grossly unjust.
Jeremy Corbyn bent over backwards to include all political views in the party. May be that was the “mistake”.
And Keir “seems set on repeating the same mistakes” ??
So Jeremy Corbyn ran a factional ship, and Dawn is not yet sure whether Keir Starmer is running a factional campaign and expelling thousands of members based on intolerance and false vile accusations ?
Not much solace there for the members who have already been victims or going through this now.
We have only two options. Work within Labour as Dawn Butler intelligently suggests. Or fight for Proportional representation and sideline the Labour Party. There are arguments for both.
I have not seen Mr.Corbyn, reject or ignore anyone from our diverse communities. I have seen him at Jewish, Muslim, Afro Caribbean, etc festivities happily joining in when invited . I’ve seen him appear quietly at places of remembrances & sadness like Grenfell etc.
I do ask about the ” mistakes” he made? Was he too broadchurch, too kind, too open to others.
Naive maybe, but never nasty, never mean never dishonest, never a liar…
He was never a Labour Leader before & anyone taking on a new job has to learn from scratch how to do that, & that requires honest people to improve the party, & not purposely wreck it !
The corrupt Right Wing didnt give him a chance, they were sabotaging him right from the first election…& McNicoll was there to scupper that. In fact it was McNicoll who had the huge list of antisemitism complaints which he sat on doing nothing.
The mistake wasn’t Mr.Corbyns it was all the traitors who were paid, rewarded to make the new Leader’s life as difficult as possible.
How many played games to cause trouble within the party? WHO made those mistakes, those deplorable decisions to smear, accuse an honest man?? Shame on them.