Labour suffers heavy losses in councils seats with large Jewish populations
Council seats especially up north with large Jewish populations in the north saw big losses
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Labour has suffered heavy losses in council seats with large Jewish populations in the north as counting begins in the London mayoral and assembly races.
Sedgley Park in Bury, where the Jewish community makes up around 30 percent of the population, was taken by the Conservatives with a large swing from Labour.
Eastwood, the largest Jewish seat in Scotland, also switched to the Conservatives.
Though deputy leader Tom Watson described the overall picture nationwide as ״mixed” for his party, these early results suggest the anti-Semitism scandal and enduring concerns over Jeremy Corbyn have cost Labour at the polls.
John Mann, the MP for Bassetlaw and chair of the all-party group against anti-Semitism, said the results in Jewish areas had been a “sub plot” of the night – and predicted a similar impact in London.
He told the BBC: “It is clear the Jewish vote, which for generations in families has been Labour, has gone against Labour tonight. We’ve seen that Bury, in Glasgow, I think we’ll see it in parts of London.
“This is going to define Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership – he’s got to get on top of this because Labour is not going to win power of it doesn’t get on top of the problem.”
Labour’s London mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan had warned this week for the first time that the anti-Semitism row could cost him support. But, while the polls suggest he has a big lead, the results so far will be of particular concern in London Assembly seats like Barnet and Camden where incumbent Andrew Dismore is hoping to hold off the challenge of Tory Dan Thomas.
That seat could yet face a legal challenge in the event of a close contest after an administrative error meant thousands were unable to vote across Barnet yesterday morning.
In Scotland, it was another bad night for Labour against the SNP and the party has lost around two dozen councillors nationwide so far, though the losses are less severe than many predicted. It also won two parliamentary by-elections.
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