Ken Livingstone quits Labour after antisemitism claims

Ken Livingstone has announced that he is resigning from the Labour party, saying the issues around his suspension for alleged antisemitism had become a distraction.

The former mayor of London and Labour MP said he was leaving the party he joined 50 years ago with “great sadness” but would continue to campaign for a government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

In a statement, he said: “After much consideration, I have decided to resign from the Labour party. We desperately need a Corbyn-led government to transform Britain and I’ll continue to work to this end.”

He added: “The ongoing issues around my suspension from the Labour party have become a distraction from the key political issue of our time – which is to replace a Tory government overseeing falling living standards and spiralling poverty, while starving our schools and the NHS of the vital resources they need.”

Livingstone, 72, has been suspended since 2016 in a row over antisemitism that erupted after comments he made about Adolf Hitler supporting Zionism, but a new Labour party disciplinary process was due to begin this week.

He came under mounting pressure after Shami Chakrabarti, who authored a report dealing with antisemitism and racism in the party, hinted that she might quit the Labour frontbench if he was not expelled from the party at his next hearing.

The shadow attorney general, whose intervention indicated that the front bench was starting to turn against Livingstone, said she did not believe there were circumstances where the party’s disciplinary panel could decide not to expel him.

Livingstone said he was quitting after his lawyers advised him that if he lost his case and was expelled, it would take at least two years before any legal challenge was resolved.

However, while he apologised for his controversial remarks that offended many in the Jewish community, he denied that he was guilty of antisemitism.

He has always maintained that comments he made about the Nazi leader supporting a Jewish homeland when he first came to power in the early 1930s were historically accurate.

“I do not accept the allegation that I have brought the Labour party into disrepute – nor that I am in any way guilty of antisemitism,” he said. “I abhor antisemitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so.

“I also recognise that the way I made a historical argument has caused offence and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.”

Livingstone told the Guardian that he had made the decision to leave the party himself, and had not been pushed out by the party leadership. He said it meant he would now be able to campaign at elections for Corbyn, which he had not been able to do while suspended.

Corbyn, who was a long-term ally of the controversial politician, said: “Ken Livingstone’s resignation is sad after such a long and vital contribution to London and progressive politics, but was the right thing to do.”

Livingstone was expelled from Labour in 2000 after challenging Frank Dobson, the party’s official candidate in the London mayoral election race, but was later readmitted to the party by Tony Blair and won a second term as mayor.

Livingstone said he was convinced that the party, which has been accused of dragging its heels over tackling antisemitism within its ranks, would now take “rapid action” to expel anybody who genuinely had antisemitic views.

He suggested that the problem within Labour was not as widespread as had been reported, although he acknowledged that the huge influx of new members under Corbyn may have been problematic.

“I literally have never come across anyone saying or doing anything antisemitic in the Labour party,” he added.

Senior Labour figures suggested Livingstone’s departure would come as a relief for Corbyn, who had been under pressure to speed up the disciplinary process, which might yet have failed to expel him.

After angry protests from Jewish groups, Labour’s new general secretary, Jennie Formby, said tackling antisemitism would be her top priority.

Livingstone could rejoin the party in the future but would have to return as a suspended member and the disciplinary case against him would still stand.

The Labour MP Ruth Smeeth, who described in a recent Commons debate antisemitic abuse she had received from Corbyn supporters, described Livingstone’s decision to resign as “welcome” but added that his “toxic views” should have resulted in his expulsion from the party years earlier.

The Ilford North MP, Wes Streeting, a vice-chair of the all-parliamentary group on antisemitism, added: “Ken Livingstone should have been expelled. We must now make it clear that he will never be welcome to return. His vocal cheerleaders and supporters should follow him out of the door.”

However, the Derby North MP, Chris Williamson, praised Livingstone. “Ken Livingstone remains a towering figure of the Labour movement,” he said.

“He popularised progressive socialism and was labelled a ‘loony leftie’ nearly 40 years ago for his efforts to champion public services, stand up for marginalised groups and fight all forms of racism.”