In an interview on BBC Radio 4 this morning, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh, made the link between anti-capitalists and anti-semitism. When asked if the Labour party are taking anti-semitism seriously, she replied:

“I’m not sure that some people in the labour party can, because it’s very much part of their politics – of hard left politics – to be against capitalisTS, and to see jewish people as the finANCERS OF CAPITAL”

She was then asked: “In other words, to be anti-capitalist you have to be anti-semitic?”

She replied (but clearly then starts to backtrack):

“Yes. not everybody but absolutely, there’s a certain strand of it and these people are not labour, have never been labour but we now find them in our party”

John Humphrey then asked: “Don’t they become Labour when they join the party?”

Her reply:

“Not as far as I see it. i believe that the labour party has a very strong set of values related to how we see society should be run and about being anti-racist, which they cannot be part of”

McDonagh then mentioned Formby refusing to release the figures of anti-semitic incidents (which she already had done some time ago), and then went on to criticise her for saying she answers to the NEC, not Labour MPs. She then praised Tom Watson for wanting to intervene with cases, despite Watson’s actions being incompatible with GDPR laws.

It is clearly very problematic and actually borders upon anti-semitism in itself to immediately make the association between Jewish people and banking/financing – repeating an anti-semitic trope on national radio is appalling.

You can hear it for yourself at around 1hour37 minutes onwards – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0002z80

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