Senior Jewish Labour figures warn: Soft-left leadership could open door to hard-left

A senior Jewish Labour figure has expressed concern that a soft-left leader of the party could be “a gateway drug for the hard-left.”

Keir Starmer sought to downplay speculation about his future as Prime Minister on Monday morning, insisting he was “focused on the job” during a visit to party headquarters.

The PM also pledged to support Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election “100%,” as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham aims to run for the seat and return to Westminster.

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Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, meanwhile, announced his intention to stand in any leadership contest, making his position clear in a speech at last weekend’s Progress Conference in central London.

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However, some Jewish Labour parliamentarians now fear that any replacement for Starmer may shift the party to the left, potentially allowing hard-left factions around the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs to regain a foothold—a presence that has weakened under the current PM’s leadership.

Last week, John McDonnell urged that, should Burnham become leader, Jeremy Corbyn should be allowed back into the party as part of a new, more welcoming approach to the hard-left.

Former chancellor McDonnell said he would be “personally raising” Corbyn’s return with the current Greater Manchester Mayor.

Labour peer Lord Katz responded furiously, writing on X: “Anyone who—however hypothetically—aspires to lead the Labour Party, let alone be Prime Minister, must make it clear this is never going to happen. Labour was found to have broken equality law against Jewish members under Corbyn’s leadership. This is non-negotiable.”

Meanwhile, a senior Jewish Labour source added: “The last decade demonstrated very clearly how a soft left leadership in the Party can be a gateway drug for the hard left—and all the antisemitism and, frankly, barmy student politics that comes with it. Taking this trajectory would be terrible for the country and the party.”

Jewish News understands that the Jewish Labour Movement is preparing to write to any prospective Labour leadership candidate to demand assurances that Corbyn, or any of his other hard-left Labour exiles, will not be allowed back into the party.

In a post on X, the JLM national chair Ella Rose-Jacobs wrote: “Jeremy Corbyn didn’t just lead us to electoral oblivion; he led the Labour Party to institutional racism.

JLM will ensure we never let us go back there, and will challenge any leadership candidate as appropriate.”

Burnham, in his campaign to return to Westminster, has openly sought to win over the left with calls for the nationalisation of industries including water.

He has publicly stated that the UK government must get beyond being “in hock to the bond markets,”signaling a willingness to borrow to invest in infrastructure and defence.”

Burnham has also offered to work with politicians outside Labour on the left, including some Greens, fuelling speculation that he would be prepared to work with Corbyn.

The Mainstream group, set up to back Burnham, has declared he is supported by a coalition stretching from the centre to the hard-left wings of the party.