Rachel Johnson Says “Labour Has Been Pushed Back By Pro-Palestinian Cause”

Journalist and author Rachel Johnson says Keir Starmer’s mission to “clean house of antisemitism” has been pushed back “by the pro-Palestinian cause that has swept the campuses, that has swept the left.”

The Labour leadership is facing questions after withdrawing the party’s support for its Rochdale by-election candidate, amid a storm of criticism of remarks he made about Israel.

Azhar Ali had apologised after he was recorded suggesting in a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party that Israel had taken the October 7 Hamas assault as a pretext to invade Gaza.

But a party spokesperson said on Monday evening that Mr Ali, who is understood to be suspended pending an investigation, had Labour’s backing withdrawn “following new information about further comments”.

#israel #palestine #labour #talktv

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First let’s turn our attention to events in Rochdale where labor have now distanced itself from azir Ali joining me now to discuss this is talk TV’s political correspondent Alisa Fitzgerald so Alisa tell us what is actually happening can you tell us what what labor have actually said yes so

Obviously we’ll remember up until yesterday labor were really backing this candidate they were saying he just got swept up in a conspiracy theory he’s apologized we still stand by him and he’s still going to be our candidate at this by elction the trouble is is it’s

Too late to replace him now so the deadline for that was the 2nd of February so labor now don’t have a choice but to either take their support away which is what they’ve done um or and effectively have no one running in this byelection for them so what’s

Happening now is that labor have said that there has been some new Revelations some new comments that have been brought to light last night that meant that they have taken withdrawn their support from the candidate so and do we know what those new comments are or are they the

Comments that were in the Daily Mail which said that that he said that Israel that allowed Hamas to attack its citizens to give them an excuse to go into Gaza so we don’t know what the further comments are yet but I think that’s probably why Labour were quick to

Jump in there last night and say before these comments come out we are retracting our support from this candidate because of these comments that were made but the interesting thing is is because they can’t replace him when he goes to the when everyone goes to The Ballot Box when this by elction happens

He will still be on the ballot paper with labor branding it will still say his name and labor candidate next to it so it’s should we just explain to viewers that under electoral law there is a a kind of like a a a hard stop so

You have so long to submit your your nomination papers to have them signed to be a credible person to stand for election and then once that date passes that is it whatever happens if you die your there has to be a whole new process that takes place in a new election

That’s it that hard stop is you’re named you are the candidate your name appears on the ballot paper so his name can’t come off the ballot paper and he can’t be withdrawn as the candidate no and and just even from a logistical standpoint all the ballot papers are printed

Already and all of them will literally say his name and labor on it so anyone going to with the labor logo with the labor logo and all the branding so anyone going to vote will still see this candidate’s name and labor what happens after that though say he does still win

Which which he could um he would then go into Parliament as an independent MP he would not have the labor whip so it’s a bit of a confusing process there because up until that date where the byelection happen it looks like he’s a labor candidate but then if it does

Materialize that he wins he won’t be a labor MP so very complicated situation and what has been the response from the conservative party it’s been heavy it’s been big so lots of conservatives either say there there’s two kind of rungs to this one saying that K starma has done

Another U-turn that he has no backbone he’s caved pressure he’s only made this decision because people have told him he should rather than because he wanted to and then lots of people as well drawing on the anti-Semitism um argument as well kist has really made this his biggest

Mission since 2019 to rid the party of anti-Semitism so lots of conservatives now coming forward and saying why did it take you 48 hours to make that decision and get rid of your support for this candidate and so there are so many candidates standing in this by elction

As well so many independent so in effect AI becomes another independent doesn’t he except he has labor next to his name yeah that’s the thing there’s so many independent MPS running for this and it’s it’s often harder to vote in an independent MP than it is to vote an MP

That’s affiliated with the party unless you are a really really big Standalone figure unless you’re already a really well established person in politics and people speaking of speaking of which Simon danuk who was Labor then he went to the liberal Democrats and now he’s gone all the way over to reform he’s

Standing as well well exactly how does that work well people also I think look at that process and it does throw into question what his politics actually is if you’ve gone from a left leaning party to a a liberal party and now to a right leaning party people say hang on how

Earth does that work and all in quite a short space of time too so rale have a very interesting decision to make at this next by election that’s for sure and am I right in thinking Simon dank’s ex-wife used to be a counselor in watch

Jail did she I think he might be right and what party was she I have no idea conservative maybe she yeah maybe she switched when he did as well she just kind of went around no she is I mean that that was all quite you know there

Was a lot of that in the news at the time wasn’t there she’s I don’t think they are together for a long time now well this is all interesting I’m going to go over now to to Kevin and Rachel so Kevin I’m going to go to you first can

You give me back now all the things that you said when Boris Johnson was prime minister when he took a bit of time to take a decision over something like this all the words you said are you now going to apply those to cased armor as well oh

Yeah to shambles Fiasco for labor unquestionably yeah there’s no there’s no avoiding uh that so what should they have done and and they’ve got and they’ve got what it’s a 29th isn’t it uh two weeks Thursday so they’ve got another 16 days of Agony uh and they’ve effectively conceded what was a rock

Solid labor seat because they didn’t do their du due diligence on the candidate because he is in the starma faction of the labor party he’s on the center right so they’ve uh if he was on the left I have no doubt they would have done more work and he had an excellent candidate

To choose from him Paul Wall former journalist on the independent I agree Jour yeah who he’s honestly he’s like we don’t agree on anything politically but he’s one of the nicest men in West oh I’m I’m pretty certain wouldn’t have found him saying anything uh like this

And of course you know ASI swallowed espoused a real conspiracy theory a crackpot cranky conspiracy theory but then the other stuff that is coming out is is so you know you know Jewish influence in the media and so on which are very old old tropes and that’s what

Was that’s what Kia found out last pushed them over the edge because we only had part of the recording now as Louise Elman a former Labor uh MP in Liverpool who was Jewish 20 years he’s been a big supporter of of me in the battle against anti-Semitism

This is all out of of character and she thinks it’s a mistake to now labor abandon thinks this y because because she’s saying it’s it’s it’s out of it’s out of character but but nevertheless if you’re K Storer and you have made such a big issue of tearing anti-Semitism out

Of Labor by its roots as he as he said this is this is hugely embarrassing there’s no way round it but now is you mentioned Simon danuk Simon danuk when he stood as an independent because labor kicked him out over SE or other questionable Behavior he was the

Rochdale MB MP 201815 when he still was an independent he got 1.8% of the vote he lost his 500 pound deposit there’s no great love for for him but you also have now standing and I’m I’m sure fairness will do all the candidates at some point you have also George Galloway who’s

Standing very much on a pro Palestinian anti-israel uh ticket he’s another ex- labor MP you’ve got three sort of EX labor party people now in this this byelection but you haven’t got an official labor Party candidate well I’m surprised at Louise Elman because you know I’m sure it on that argument it was

Very much out of character for Chris pincher to pinch another gay man’s bub in a par you know it’s you never done that before it’s that a character if that’s the excuse you’re going to use then nobody would ever be held to account for anything wasn’t Lisa nandy

Actually out campaigning for Azar Ali on Saturday because it was scheduled she was going to do it and then they they get contact the labor part gets contacted by the mail on Sunday which revealed the tape of a labor counselor’s uh meeting uh at which I also believe uh

Ali was arguing counselor’s concerned about starmer’s position on Gaza shouldn’t defect from from the labor part he’s trying to keep them in but you but they learned about this and they it went ahead I think because in one way they weren’t quite sure what was happening thought at the time because it

Is as alissia was explaining he’s on the ballot paper you can’t remove him from the ballot paper any day now the postal votes will be going out with him there as the official labor Party candidate and the little Rose logo next to him it is it’s it’s an incredible mess for

Labor what can you read through to wider issues around starmer and the labor leadership that’s I think that’s the real question because it comes after the protracted death of the 28 billion green power promise which was given a very slow funeral I mean that that Court Edge

Went on and on and on before they finally got round to burying the policy if you’re going to bury it it should have been buried weeks or months ago well you know Kevin we’ll come back to that because there are a number of questions I want to ask about that I’m

Gonna go to Rachel Rachel what impact do you think this is going to have on the general election and do you think people in Rochdale like we like to think don’t we that everybody’s watching the news and like the world is tuned into talk TV right now but do you think the wider

Population in Rochdale will actually be paying any attention to this that’s a very good question I mean I think you mentioned um the this counselor this candidate was trying to say to uh other counselors don’t abandon stama because of his position on Israel aband labor yeah sorry um that is I think the

Unspoken here which is that the kier’s mission to clean housee of anti-Semitism has been pushed back by the pro Palestinian cause that has swept the campuses that has swept the left and I think that this counselor has got himself sucked into some terrible wormhole on online which has basically

Said you know we don’t need to repeat the Trope how do we know that how do we know that isn’t secret no because I had people ringing me on Sunday repeating exactly this Trope when I was doing an hour on is I’ve been shown it we we’ve

Been shown it we’ve been shown adver adverts online that say um Americans please come and buy this property in Gaza there is a ton of stuff online so essentially you’ve seen a a star a storite labor polit sensible politician being radicalized by what’s happened in the since October the 7th and and starma

Is like a rabbit in headlights he hasn’t realized this has happened and he’s blind because this was a star right to the actual anti-Semitism that is being repeated that has is sweeping the world and that is dangerous because that Trope is actually if you break it down it’s

It’s like Holocaust denial he’s saying that the Israelis actually wielded this Holocaust upon themselves on October the 7th it’s an unbelievable thing to say and and they should have acted far sooner rather than saying oh you know he was he was Bamboozled by something he

Saw online I’ve I’ve seen it the I I was shown a video of a somebody purporting to be member of the IDF the Israeli military saying look we did this to deliberately to allow uh uh Hamas to come in justify killing Palestinians and raise raise Gaza but you you got you got

To think that initially there was a little question mark I put it no bigger a little question mark of whether he was anti-semitic because he was talking about Israel and not Jewish people but then then later the comments about Jewish people quite clearly are anti-semitic but you can’t say starm

Hasn’t acted when he has left labor without a candidate in a safe labor seat I mean you probably so so do we think then Kevin and this is a legitimate question I I believe when all this F is died down when this story is forgotten in a couple of weeks after

The election takes place and say he is elected by many of the people in Rell thinking he’s the actual labor candidate it says labor above his name will he suddenly have the whip introduced no no you ever be you don’t think do you don’t think K will ever Embrace him into the

Labor party not now and uh what if a general election arrives in say May and he’s got a 20,000 majority La labor will run an official candidate no I think that’s it he’s he’s he’s out for five 10 20 years un unless he wins back the trust and the Heart of the Jewish

Community but you’re not going to be able to do that in a matter of months do I think it’ll have an impact on the general election no I think the inflation figures tomorrow uh whether we’re in recession on Thursday will have a bigger impact and of course we do know there are two

Cons by elections on Thursday and conservative seats were big majorities the conservatives could lose I think that’s probably a going to be more telling where we’re going politically or where the country is going than what happens in Rochdale so I’ve got to read out the list of candidates because of

The perder that were at the moment because the election so the candidates for the Rochdale byelection are AA Ali labor even though the party has officially withdrawn support Mark Coleman independent Simon Daner Kevin’s laughing here reform UK Ian Donaldson liberal Dem Democrats Paul Ellison conservative George gway Workers Party

Of Britain never heard of them Michael howth independent William howth independent G they Brothers guy uton green party Robin Rhoden SAA official monster raving Looney party David Tully independent quite a formidable list of talent there so guys we’re going to go on to the Biden story so president B I

Mean there’s so much we could talk about with President Biden at the moment but he has said that Israel should stop and think seriously before taking any further action in rougher and Lord Cameron made the same David Cameron made the same warning gave the same warning

On Monday so Kevin I’m GNA come back to you what’s your position on this what do you think I mean Kevin so sorry Biden I mean it’s I’m s I’m I’m absolutely amazed he got full sentence out do you think that he knows what he’s asking for

Do you think he knows what he’s saying when he asks for this I think he does in this case and I think that seems to be kind of an international consensus uh that the military action getting there is is becoming is becoming counterproductive not not only is it

Wrong to be killing so many Palestinians including thousands and thousands of women and children now to go after Hamas is legitimate and go after the leadership but not to be killing this number of of people after October the 7th that what happened on October the 7th Hamas murdering and raping Israelis taking

Prisoners was monstrous but this is monstrous too and I think is Israel is losing any moral High Ground it had I think it’s losing whatever legal cover it had and it’s losing losing supp poort ally allies to far that three months ago we were last on television together we

Could have said exactly the same sentence isance the only the only real leverage would be Biden because the US supplies military weapons to to Israel would be threatening to cut the supply but he hasn’t Rachel I agree with what Kevin said I think that was a really fair

Analysis and also how Israel is losing the kind of the information the media War at the moment even though it got two hostages out uh in the last week but at what price to to the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza I think there was 67 deaths um but you can’t if you total

Up the number of deaths on each side obviously it it extremely bad for for Israel um in the court in the international Court of public opinion however they still I mean if you talk to Elon Levy the spokesman or you talk to Mark regev the adviser you know they are absolutely determined

To finish the job to get Hamas out of the tunnels and what they say is the least cost to the civilian population well we’ve seen the results um Biden and netan Yahoo that’s interesting because you’ve seen there is some hot mic kind of Gossip that Biden is saying he’s an

A-hole um he’s a real pain in the A and and now the narrative is developing in the US which is significant because us as Kevin said is the only people who have any real influence David Cameron saying the Israelis should think carefully I mean really is BB going to

Think oh I better be careful because what is that what you think of David Cameron’s impact so ask you David Cameron joining in he sanctioned he’s he’s placed UK sanctions on some settlers in the West Bank who have been breaking the law and so he’s you know

Doing some stuff which means that we can sanction their UK operations that’s you know important it shows that the UK wants to hold to account Israeli wrongdoing and lawbreaking where it can where it has any influence and presence so the sanctions is one tiny area but

Just going back to Biden if Biden is really fed up with BB Netanyahu he may be on the point of doing something more significant than he and saying something more significant than he already has and I think we may be coming to that moment we raer where the ground operation has

Not begun in Earnest that’s interesting I think that’s more likely to happen next week when Parliament