Ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone Quits Labour Over Anti-Semitism ‘Distraction’
Image by Getty Images
Former London mayor Ken Livingstone resigned from Britain’s opposition Labour Party on Monday, saying that a row over anti-Semitism allegations against him had become a distraction for the party’s leadership.
Livingstone, the mayor of London from 2000 and 2008, was suspended from Labour after he said in April 2016 that Hitler had supported Zionism.
Last year Labour extended that suspension, but party leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced accusations that he has been too soft on anti-Semitism in the party.
Livingstone, a veteran socialist, denied in a statement on Monday that he was guilty of anti-Semitism.
But he added: “I also recognize that the way I made a historical argument has caused offense and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.”
“Any further disciplinary action against me may drag on for months or even years, distracting attention from Jeremy’s policies,” Livingstone said.
“I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
