Jeremy Corbyn urges his Labour supporters to ‘stay in the party' after his suspension

Former leader calls for calm and for members to "make the case" for left-wing values internally
Matt Watts29 October 2020

Jeremy Corbyn has urged his Labour supporters to "stay in the party" to fight for left-wing principles after his suspension.

Mr Corbyn was suspended from the party on Thursday after the human rights watchdog found it broke equality law in its handling of anti-Semitism.

The Labour leader of five years rejected some of the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report and claimed the issue had been "dramatically overstated for political reasons" by his critics.

His comments prompted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to take decisive action against his predecessor.

But in a broadcast interview in Islington following the removal of the whip, Mr Corbyn called for calm and for members to "make the case" for left-wing values internally.

Jeremy Corbyn has urged his Labour supporters to "stay in the party" 
PA

"Quite clearly the decision was made in a very quick way and I would just say, hang on a minute, let's all keep a bit calm, let's think again about this whole issue," he said.

"Our party comes together to fight racism and injustice but we also come together to bring about economic justice for the people of this country,"

"That is what unites our movement and our party and that is what I appeal to members to focus on.

"Don't go away, don't leave the party. Stay in the party and argue the case for economic and social justice in our society."

During the interview, the Islington North MP refused to retract his earlier statements, saying the "public perception" about how many members were under investigation for anti-Semitism was "very different" to the reality.

But he added: "I've explained what I said, I've explained what I meant by it. I'm not diminishing or minimising the issue of anti-Semitism.

"It is serious, it is real, it does exist.

"I've explained what the statement was designed to say, simply the size of the issue.

"But one anti-Semite is one too many and I've made that clear to everyone in the party."

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