Disgraced Ken Livingstone appears to blame Jewish people for Jeremy Corbyn’s defeat by saying ‘the Jewish vote wasn’t very helpful’
- Former Labour London mayor has said the Jewish vote ‘wasn’t very helpful’
- Members of the Jewish community have shared their relief at Corbyn’s defeat
- They have described how they feel ‘anxious’ and ‘worried’ by his leadership
Disgraced former London mayor Ken Livingstone last night appeared to blame Jewish people for Labour‘s defeat, sparking a fresh anti-semitism row.
Mr Livingstone, who left Labour last year over anti-Semitism, said: ‘The Jewish vote wasn’t very helpful.’
He was forced to quit the party after saying Hitler ‘was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews’.
It came as Countdown host Rachel Riley was joined by other members of the Jewish community last night as they shared their relief at Jeremy Corbyn’s poll humiliation.
Former Labour London mayor Ken Livingstone, pictured in Westminster in March 2017, has appeared to blame Jewish people for Labour’s defeat
The former Labour politician, pictured in an interview with Andrew Neil, was removed from the party after he said that Hitler was ‘supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews’
Earlier in the day Jewish voters described how they felt ‘anxious’ and ‘worried’ after a campaign dominated by the Labour leader’s failure to crack down on anti-Semitism in his party.
But last night they expressed their sheer relief that the electorate had dismissed Mr Corbyn’s brand of anti-Israel extremism. Miss Riley, who has faced a barrage of anti-Semitism from Labour supporters, simply tweeted: ‘Love you Britain.’
Last night Mr Livingstone said ‘it looks like the end’ for his friend Mr Corbyn.
He said: ‘The Jewish vote wasn’t very helpful. Jeremy should have tackled that issue far earlier than he did.
‘It looks like the end for Jeremy, which is disappointing for me since I’m a close ally. I’m sure he’ll have to resign tomorrow.’
While Mr Corbyn was criticised for Labour’s radical election platform, Mr Livingstone said he would have preferred the party to have been even bolder.
‘I thought that perhaps they weren’t radical enough,’ he said. ‘But at the end of the day, the public didn’t like it. I think the idea for a four-day working week wasn’t very popular at all.’
The former London mayor has also said that the results from this General Election look like ‘the end’ for his friend Mr Corbyn. (Pictured: Ken Livingstone at London’s QE2 centre in 2000 during the announcement of his victory as London mayor)
Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, said last night: ‘The relief among the Jewish community is palpable. And the gratitude. Now it seems like the British people have told the Corbynites where to go, I realise that the worst thing they did was make Jews so nervous that we even doubted our fellow Brits.
‘They don’t like extremists and never have. It was awful we should ever have felt need to doubt that.’
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman tweeted: ‘Thank you Great Britain. I’m crying my eyes out.’
During the campaign the Chief Rabbi made an explosive intervention, saying Mr Corbyn had allowed the ‘poison’ of antiSemitism to infect Labour.
And in an excruciating TV interview, the Labour leader repeatedly refused to apologise to the Jewish community for his party’s failings.
At Mr Corbyn’s final rally on Wednesday, supporters chanted: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ – apparently a call for Israel to cease to exist.
And Jewish actress Maureen Lipman faced online abuse after she wrote in yesterday’s Mail that a Corbyn premiership would be a ‘stain’ on Britain.
Miss Lipman, the veteran actress who is now starring in Coronation Street, had written: ‘Five years of a Corbyn government… would be a stain on all of us. ‘If history shows us anything, it’s that we’ll survive this upstart Islington wuss. But if we are to do so, today is the time for everyone – Jewish or not – to stand up.’