Labour candidate celebrated defeat of Ruth Smeeth as ‘one bit of good news’
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Labour candidate celebrated defeat of Ruth Smeeth as ‘one bit of good news’

Emma Bonner-Morgan, Labour candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, appears to revel the defeat of the Jewish Labour Movement's former parliamentary chair

Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.

Ruth Smeeth f
Ruth Smeeth f

A Labour candidate appeared to celebrate the defeat of former MP Ruth Smeeth after last week’s election.

Emma Bonner-Morgan, who failed to win in Suffolk Central & Ipswich North, wrote on Facebook that it was “good news” the ex-parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement lost her job last Thursday.

This comes after Labour suffered heavy losses to the Tories in their traditional heartlands, with Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party claiming an 80-seat majority.

Commenting online, Bonner-Morgan reportedly said Smeeth’s defeat in Stoke On Trent North was “one bit of good news! She lost”.

Other users said: “Get lost Smeeth!”, “what an a*******” and that she “deserved to lose, hateful cow.”

Bonner-Morgan came second with 11,862 votes to her Tory opponent Dan Poulter, with 35,253.

Emma Bonner-Morgan celebrating Ruth Smeeth’s defeat

Stephane Savary, National Vice-Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement wrote on Twitter that Bonner-Morgan “isn’t bothered with the torrent of abuse against Mrs Smeeth. Is this an acceptable behaviour from a labour candidate? Absolutely not. And yet this is the state of our party in 2019.”

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

Smeeth, who has been a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of the party’s antisemitism row, said: “I am no longer MP – this is a disaster. Jeremy Corbyn should resign now before his own count is in”, after losing her seat.

She said it was “an appalling night for my constituents and an appalling night for the country”, before pointing the finger at Jeremy Corbyn when asked who was to blame.

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