Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. An independent,Corbyn was a member of the Labour Party from 1965 until his expulsion in 2024,and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. He served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. Corbyn identifies ideologically as a socialist on the political left.
Ann Black OBE is a British political activist who serves as a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party. She served from 2000 to 2018 and was re-elected in November 2020. She was chair of the NEC from 2009 to 2010,and has also served as chair of the NEC's disputes panel.
The General Secretary of the Labour Party is the most senior employee of the British Labour Party,and acts as the non-voting secretary to the National Executive Committee. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a provisional replacement,subject to approval at the subsequent party conference.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain,established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws in England,Scotland and Wales. It took over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality,the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. The EHRC also has responsibility for other aspects of equality law:age,sexual orientation and religion or belief. A national human rights institution,it seeks to promote and protect human rights throughout Great Britain.
The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM),known as Poale Zion (Great Britain) from 1903 to 2004,is one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to the UK Labour Party. It is a member of the progressive coalition of Avodah/Meretz/Arzenu/Ameinu within the World Zionist Organization. Its sister parties are the Israeli Labor Party (Havodah) and Meretz.
Christopher Williamson is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Derby North from 2010 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2019. He was Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government from October 2010 to October 2013. Williamson was previously a local councillor in Derby,representing the Normanton ward from 1991 until 2011 and serving twice as leader of Derby City Council.
Momentum is a British left-wing political organisation which has been described as a grassroots movement supportive of the Labour Party;since January 2017,all Momentum members must be members of the party. It was founded in 2015 by Jon Lansman,Adam Klug,Emma Rees and James Schneider after Jeremy Corbyn's successful campaign to become Labour Party leader and it was reported to have between 20,000 and 30,000 members in 2021.
Jonathan Lansman is a British political activist. He is best known for having worked on Jeremy Corbyn's successful 2015 campaign for the leadership of the Labour Party and subsequently founded the pro-Corbyn organisation Momentum. He is a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee. Lansman has worked for both Tony Benn and Michael Meacher,and was a prominent supporter of Benn in the early 1980s.
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) is a British non-governmental organisation established in August 2014 by members of the Anglo-Jewish community. It conducts litigation,runs awareness-raising campaigns,organises rallies and petitions,provides education on antisemitism and publishes research.
The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and questions about his leadership of the party.
The Chakrabarti Inquiry was a 2016 investigation into allegations of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the United Kingdom's Labour Party. Chaired by barrister Shami Chakrabarti,the inquiry was launched following comments made by two high-profile Labour figures,Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone,that some asserted were antisemitic in nature;Shah,a Member of parliament,and Livingstone,the former mayor of London,were subsequently suspended from the party pending an investigation. The inquiry presented its findings on 30 June 2016,stating that although antisemitism and other types of racism were not endemic within Labour,there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".
Christine Evangelou and others v Iain McNicol (Labour Party) [2016] EWCA Civ 817 is an English contract law case brought by five members of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom against its General Secretary,Iain McNicol on behalf of the whole party,concerning the eligibility of members to vote in the party's leadership election of 2016. The claimants came to court to challenge the decision of the party's National Executive Committee to bar members from voting in the election if they joined the party after 12 January 2016 (i.e. less than six months before the start of voting). This was due to affect approximately 130,000 new members (around one quarter of the party's total membership). The judge at first instance sided with the claimants,although this decision was overturned on appeal. On 14 August,it was announced that the claimants would not be challenging this decision in the Supreme Court.
Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Leader of the Opposition in September 2015,following the resignation of Ed Miliband after Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election. Disillusioned by a lack of a left-wing voice in the 2015 Labour Party leadership contest,Corbyn stood on an anti-austerity platform. Of the candidates who stood,Corbyn received the fewest parliamentary nominations. Many who nominated him said they had done so not to support his candidacy,but to widen the debate by including a socialist voice. However,Corbyn soon became the frontrunner and was elected with a landslide of 59%.
There have been instances of antisemitism within the Labour Party of the United Kingdom (UK) since its establishment. One such example is canards about "Jewish finance" during the Boer War. In the 2000s,controversies arose over comments made by Labour politicians regarding an alleged "Jewish lobby",a comparison by London Labour politician Ken Livingstone of a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard,and a 2005 Labour attack on Jewish Conservative Party politician Michael Howard.
Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) is a British organisation formed in 2017 for Jewish members of the Labour Party. Its aims include a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism,including anti-Semitism ... to uphold the right of supporters of justice for Palestinians to engage in solidarity activities",and "to oppose attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards,or discrimination against,Jews as Jews".
Jennifer Formby is a British trade unionist and political figure who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2018 to 2020. She was previously political director and south-east England regional secretary for Unite the Union.
Karie Murphy is a British trade unionist and political strategist who served as the Executive Director of the Leader of the Opposition's Office under Jeremy Corbyn from 2016 to 2020.
The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism,2014–2019,is a leaked British dossier written by party staff in response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's investigation into the party's handling of antisemitism complaints and includes reports of other forms of racism. The report reveals emails of senior party management staff,aligned with the right of the party,and alleges obstruction of justice in dealing with cases of antisemitism and other noted cases of racism,and it does not clear the party of accusations of being "institutionally antisemitic". Although the report states that it "thoroughly disproves any suggestion that antisemitism is not a problem in the Party",or that it is all a smear or a witch-hunt,its main assertion is that rampant factionalism within the party had ultimately led to antisemitism and racism allegations not being dealt with properly.
David Richard Evans is a British political official who served as general secretary of the Labour Party from 25 September 2021 until 17 September 2024,having acted as general secretary since 26 May 2020. He served as an assistant general secretary of the Labour Party from 1999 to 2001. Evans was the regional director of the North West Labour Party from 1995 to 1999 and founded The Campaign Company,a political consultancy.
Keir Starmer served as Leader of the Opposition from April 2020,following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election and Starmer's election as Labour leader in the ensuing leadership election,until his party won a landslide victory at the 2024 general election in July 2024. During his tenure,Starmer moved Labour toward the political centre and emphasised the elimination of antisemitism within the party.
