Show caption Jeremy Corbyn is in favour in principle of the rule change, which would send a signal that it is serious about tackling antisemitism, according to a Labour source. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn will back change to allow tough line on antisemitism Backers of antisemitism motion say unified Labour position on rule change is vital to win back Jewish voters Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot Sun 17 Sep 2017 22.00 BST Share on Facebook

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Jeremy Corbyn is to back a significant rule change so Labour can take a tougher line on antisemitic abuse, which supporters hope will send a signal at the party’s conference that it is serious about tackling hate.

Supporters of the motion say it is vital the party has a unified position on the new antisemitism motion when it is agreed by Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) on Tuesday, although the exact wording of the rule change was still being fiercely debated late on Sunday.

Momentum, the party’s leftwing grassroots movement, has said its support for the motion is not assured and will depend on the final wording. Its backers, including the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), have argued there is a need to make a significant gesture in order to win back Jewish voters.

The proposed change would also mean a tougher stance on sexism, Islamophobia, racism and homophobia. At the moment, party members cannot be disciplined for “the mere holding or expression of beliefs and opinions”.

But the motion, which will be voted on by members at the party’s conference in Brighton next week, argues that rule should not apply to those who express racist, sexist, Islamophobic, homophobic or antisemitic views.

The proposed change has been brought by JLM, the largest group of Jewish Labour members and supporters, who say the current wording led to a more lenient approach to remarks by the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, that were widely perceived as antisemitic, when he was found by the party to have breached the rules.

Mike Katz, JLM’s national vice-chair, said it was crucial that the final wording of the motion had support from all sides. “We need a rule change that is fit for purpose,” he said. “Fix this and we start fixing the relationship between the party and the Jewish community – not just the right thing to do, but it helps us get closer to winning back seats in Jewish areas we narrowly lost out on in June.”

A Labour source said Corbyn was in favour of the change in principle. “Jeremy is committed to tackling antisemitism and is hopeful that the NEC will pass this motion,” the source said.

The change has already been agreed in principle by Labour’s equalities committee and will be debated when the full NEC meets on Tuesday to decide the motions delegates will vote on in Brighton.

Senior Labour sources backing the JLM motion said they were still concerned it may be watered down before it goes before conference. Some leftwing party activists, including the shadow fire minister, Chris Williamson, have accused Corbyn’s critics of “weaponising antisemitism” in order to attack the leader’s supporters.

In a conference voting guide published this week, Labour Party Marxists called on delegates to oppose the motion, calling it “anti-democratic” and likely to stifle free speech. “This is supported by the Jewish Labour Movement, which already tells you that you should probably oppose without even having to read it,” the voting guide reads, adding that the motion “removes the need to rely on rational evidence”.

A Momentum source said the group was committed to backing new measures for tackling antisemitism, pointing out that several of the group’s founders, including its chair, Jon Lansman, are Jewish and have suffered antisemitic abuse.

Jon Lansman, chair of Momentum, which says it is committed to backing new measures for tackling antisemitism. Photograph: Matt Crossick/Empics Entertainment

However, the source said some members of the group had concerns about the wording of the JLM motion but said the group was not planning to take a specific stance to support or oppose the specific rule change.

Richard Angell, the director of Labour’s centrist pressure group Progress, said it was vital the final wording of the motion could still command the support of JLM. “It is time to draw a line under antisemitism in Labour party, have the powers to act when people like Ken Livingstone go out and offend so many British Jews and ensure the Jewish community that supports Labour can flourish in the party,” he said.

“It is crucial that the final wording agreed by the NEC has the support of JLM. It is time to unite the party and make clear: antisemitism is not welcome in Labour.”

Labour NEC member Alice Perry, who sits on the equalities committee, said the motion would show that the party was committed to standing up to racism. “Labour and the NEC are fully committed to tackling all forms of hate and prejudice,” she said. “Jeremy Corbyn has a proud record of standing up to all forms of racism wherever it takes place.”

Katz, who was Labour candidate for Hendon, said concerns about antisemitism had potentially cost the party three seats with high Jewish populations in north London – which would have been enough to deny the Conservatives a majority even with the Democratic Unionist party deal.

“This could be a big, healing moment for the party in taking a significant step forward in the fight against antisemitism and all hate speech - if it gets it right,” he said.

The NEC meeting is also due to debate a package of party reforms that will be presented by the leader’s office. Though the detail of the reforms is being kept under wraps, party sources suggested they could include more seats on the NEC for ordinary party members, which would be likely to swing the balance on the governing body in favour of Corbynites.

However, trade unions, which make up a large chunk of the NEC, are likely to be wary of accepting any reforms that dilute their influence on the committee.

The key vote will be on the so-called McDonnell amendment, named after the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who had favoured reducing the number of MPs needed to nominate a leadership candidate to get their name on the ballot.

Activists have proposed reducing the threshold from 15% to 5% of MPs and MEPs, but a compromise deal of 10% is to be proposed by the TSSA union.

Labour NEC member Christine Shawcroft, who sits on Momentum’s steering committee, said MPs had been the “gatekeepers of the nominations” for party leader and that the party needed to democratise further. “It’s about making sure members can have their say and that MPs aren’t acting as a block,” she told the BBC’s Sunday Politics.