Veteran UK Labour lawmaker brands party leadership a 'force for antisemitism'

"Britain fought the Second World War to banish these views from our politics."

By REUTERS
Updated: AUGUST 31, 2018 12:39
British Labour MP Frank Field, who has just resigned his party whip, is seen on his way to parliament in Westminster in London, Britain, August 31, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS/PETER NICHOLLS)
British Labour MP Frank Field, who has just resigned his party whip, is seen on his way to parliament in Westminster in London, Britain, August 31, 2018
(photo credit: REUTERS/PETER NICHOLLS)
LONDON - One of the longest-serving lawmakers in Britain's opposition Labour Party has attacked its leadership for becoming "a force for antisemitism" and said he will no longer vote with the party in parliament.
Labour has been battling accusations of antisemitism for months, and leader Jeremy Corbyn has previously apologized for what he has described as "pockets" of antisemitism in his party.
Frank Field, 76, who has represented Birkenhead in northwest England since 1979, said on Thursday he would now sit as an independent Labour member of parliament due to antisemitism and "intolerance, nastiness and intimidation" within the party.
"Britain fought the Second World War to banish these views from our politics, but that superhuman effort and success is now under huge and sustained internal attack," he wrote in a letter to the party's chief whip, a lawmaker responsible for making sure members of parliament vote in line with the party's position.
"The leadership is doing nothing substantive to address this erosion of our core values. It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party."
Since unexpectedly becoming Labour leader in 2015 after decades spent on the left-wing fringes of the party, Corbyn has repeatedly faced accusations of turning a blind eye to antisemitic comments in the party and among groups he supports.
Earlier this week, Britain's former chief rabbi called Corbyn an antisemite and said comments about Zionists he made five years ago were the most offensive by a senior UK politician in half a century.