LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) The UK Labour Party's decision to suspend former leader Jeremy Corbyn for his reaction to a report on antisemitism is a calculated attack on the party�s left wing, London-based political analyst and writer Carlos Martinez told Sputnik on Friday.
"In terms of the Labour Party rules, there is no legitimate case for suspending Jeremy Corbyn. This can only have been a calculated attack on the left wing of the party, which Corbyn represents," Martinez said in an email interview with Sputnik.
The former Labour leader was suspended on Thursday from the party pending an investigation after he said that Labour antisemitism had been "dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media."
His comments were in response to a report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission that said the party�s former leadership had failed to handle antisemitism complaints and was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination against Jewish party members.
In the period of Corbyn's leadership, from 2015 until the beginning of this year, the party had a much more socialist profile, Martinez said.
According to the analyst, the bulk of the Labour membership at that time were left-wingers and the leadership was socialist, with an increasing number of left-wing people in the party structures.
"The only section of the party that remained dominated by centrist forces was the Parliamentary Labour Party - the MPs (lawmakers)," he said.
Martinez added that after current leader Keir Starmer was elected on April 4, following Corbyn�s decision to step down, the new leadership has tried to get rid of the socialist ranks, with the aim of turning Labour back into a party "that can be trusted by the capitalist class."
"This group - perhaps 250,000 people - is a threat in the eyes of the Labour's new rulers. So, by making an outrageous attack on Corbyn, they're hoping to provoke a mass exodus of the left. They would rather have a smaller party under their control than a larger party that's loyal to the principles of socialism," he added.
Corbyn, who also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party, admitted the existence of antisemitism in the Labour Party, but said that he has always stood firmly against all forms of racism.
He also announced that he will contest "the political intervention" to suspend him, but asked his followers to remain calm.
