Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Israel/Palestine

Showing Original Post only (View all)

FBaggins

(28,650 posts)
Fri May 6, 2016, 09:58 AM May 2016

Ken Livingstone blamed for Labour losses in Jewish areas [View all]

A Labour councillor in Manchester has directly attributed his party’s local slump to the antisemitism scandal that saw Ken Livingstone suspended. Labour kept control of Bury council, Greater Manchester, but saw its vote collapse in Prestwich, a town represented by the council with a high Jewish population. Labour lost three of its seats on Bury council, two of them wards in Prestwich, which is one of six towns the council represents. The Liberal Democrats gained the Prestwich ward of Holyrood from Labour, and the Conservatives gained the Prestwich ward of Sedgley from Labour. A Labour councillor in Sedgley, Alan Quinn, blamed these losses on comments about Israel and Hitler that led to Ken Livingstone’s suspension last week:

“It’s down to one person, and that’s Ken Livingstone. He has caused grotesque offence to the Jewish population in Prestwich with his absolutely awful comments. Our councillors put their hearts and souls into representing the area and there really is no place in the Labour Party for bigots like Ken Livingstone.”


Under similar scrutiny is the three-way marginal seat of Eastwood, a Scottish Parliamentary constituency that also has a high concentration of Jewish voters. In a significant gain, the Scottish Conservatives won the seat from Labour. It was once a Labour heartland; a vast bulk of it made up former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy’s Westminster seat of East Renfrewshire when he was an MP.

...snip...

It will be clearer how badly the party's antisemitism problem has affected Jewish votes when the London results come through. Areas of north London, such as Golders Green and Stamford Hill, have a high proportion of Jewish voters, and about two-thirds of the UK's Jews live in Greater London.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/05/ken-livingstone-blamed-labour-losses-jewish-areas
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Israel/Palestine»Ken Livingstone blamed fo...»Reply #0