Norwood vice-president quits Labour after 20 years

The vice-president of Norwood has quit the Labour Party after more than 20 years, saying he can “no longer justify” membership.

Charity leader Ronnie Harris told Jewish News he left the party amid the latest storm over its handling of allegations of anti-Semitism.

Speaking to Jewish News, Harris, who is VP at Norwood and a Trustee at both the Jewish Museum and Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “I will continue to support certain MPs in their fight to retain their constituencies against the Momentum push and of course Labour Friends of Israel, but I can no longer justify membership of the Labour Party.”

This comes after the Enough is Enough rally organised by the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, where more then 1,500 people took to Westminster to protest against Labour anti-Semitism. Following the protest, Corbyn promised to redouble efforts to tackle anti-Semitism, but has been hit with a series of fresh allegations, causing further strain on relations.

Earlier this week, one of the Labour’s major donors, Sir David Garrard, left the party over its failure to deal with “the most blatant acts of anti-Semitism”, while Lord Winston said on Friday, that he feels “deeply ashamed” of the party, accusing Corbyn of having “encouraged anti-Semites and he’s endorsed them.”

Labour peer Lord Levy also criticised the party leader over a failure to contact him following an anti-Semitic email he received, after he told the Labour leader in the Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon – but heard nothing back on the issue.