Chris Williamson BARRED from standing for Labour at election
BREAKING: Labour's ruling body decided not to endorse Williamson at next month's general election
Chris Williamson has been barred from standing for Labour after his suspension from the party over the antisemitism row, Jewish News understands.
Labour’s ruling body decided on Wednesday not to endorse Williamson for the seat that will be contested by an official Labour candidate.
According to the party’s own rule book, suspended members are not eligible to stand as Labour candidates.
Jewish groups reacted to the news, with Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl calling for Williamson’s expulsion.
She said: “The ruling to bar Chris Williamson MP from standing again in Derby North is the correct one. However this is not enough.
“Labour’s leadership must now stop dragging their feet and act immediately to expel from the party this disgraced politician who has baited the Jewish community for far too long.”
Meanwhile, the Jewish Labour Movement accused Williamson of being “a Jew-baiter who has sided with a host of antisemites”.
A spokesperson for the group added: “This does not mean Labour’s vetting system is fit for purpose. There are several National Executive Committee endorsed Labour Party candidates who have serious failings on antisemitism and the party has turned a blind eye.
“Once again, Labour only takes action against racists when they become a political liability.”
A spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council added: “Good riddance. A couple of years too late.”
The decision comes after Williamson lost his High Court bid to overturn his suspension last month after raising more than £60,000 for his legal challenge.
He was first suspended in February after saying that Labour had “been too apologetic” in its response to antisemitism allegations.
He was readmitted with a formal warning in June and suspended again days later after a second panel reviewed the decision to reinstate him. Labour also imposed a separate suspension on September 3 over additional allegations of misconduct.
In his ruling, Justice Pepperall said Labour’s decision to suspend Williamson in July was “unlawful”, but ruled that the “new disciplinary case must run its course.”
The judge said there was “nothing in the new allegations, the timing of the letter of 3 September or the decision to suspend that entitles me to take the view upon the papers that the Labour party is acting either unfairly or other than in good faith.”
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