Ex-Labour MP previously suspended over ‘f*****g Israel’ comments standing in local elections
Graham Jones is Labour's candidate for councillor in Accrington South, a seat on Lancashire County Council
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A former Labour MP who was suspended last year over comments he made about Israel is standing as a candidate for the party in next month’s local elections.
Graham Jones had been suspended ahead of the general election as the candidate for Hyndburn after comments in which he said “f**king Israel” and where he suggested Britons serving in the IDF during the war in Gaza should be “locked up” emerged in a recording of a meeting with local Muslim voters.
But Jones was informed by the party that his suspension had been lifted last May, and he is now standing as the party’s candidate for councillor in Accrington South, a seat on Lancashire County Council, in the May 1 election.
At the time of his alleged remarks, the Jewish Labour Movement said Jones’s alleged comments were “appalling and unacceptable”.
In a Facebook post Jones said he had been asked by the national party to stand in the seat, which is currently held by the Conservatives. Other party sources insist Jones has received a standard email sent to members in an attempt to find a suitable candidate to stand.
Jones, the MP for Hyndburn from 2010 until 2019, had previously been known as being supportive of Israel, and had spoken out against antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn.
But his suspension came at a meeting held to try to win back Muslim support for Azhar Ali, in the Rochdale by-election.
Ali was forced to resign after a recording emerged of him claiming Israel had known about the October 7 Hamas attacks in advance.
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