‘Israel disgraces Jews’ candidate blocked from standing again for Labour

A former Labour MP who apologised after backing a derogatory comment about Israel and Jews has been blocked from standing as a candidate for the party again.

Emma Dent Coad was exposed by the Jewish News in 2019, after she liked a Facebook comment which stated Israel “disgraces all of us Jews worldwide.”

The then MP for Kensington retracted her support for the comment, but subsequently faced widespread criticism over other remarks she made.

Coad, who was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Corbyn-loyal wing of the parliamentary Labour party, was also accused of racism after she was revealed to have labelled Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who is black, a “token ghetto boy” and “scumbag”.

She had also attacked the royal family, and had spoken at Stop the War Coalition demonstrations.

When the long-list of candidates for the west London seat, which Coad lost in 2019, was published this week, her name was not on it.

Labour sources confirmed she had been excluded as a result of “due diligence” done on all candidates ahead of them standing.

In a statement Coad said:”I am devastated that the Labour party has blocked me from standing to once again represent my community in parliament, the community I have spent the last 20 years of my life fighting for.

“If I have been outspoken in my politics, it is due to my passion and care for Kensington – for my neighbours and friends – and because of my burning desire to stamp out injustice and build a fairer, more equal society … It is plain as day that the candidate selection process now being run by the party is being factionally abused and is not fit for purpose.”

A Momentum spokesperson said: “It is a travesty of justice that passionate, popular advocates for their community like Emma are being blocked en masse by Keir Starmer’s Labour on spurious grounds.”

Elsewhere in the Camberwell and Peckham seat Labour also blocked Maurice McLeod, a councillor from standing.

In 2018, Jewish News had revealed McLeod to have been one of two councillors who walked out of the council chamber in Wandsworth ahead of a vote to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism into the council’s codes of conduct.

McLeod’s supporters claimed the decision to exclude him was down to racism.

But it subsequently emerged that the local Labour party had approved an all BAME list of candidates for the selection.