Anti-Semitism row overshadows Jeremy Corbyn’s call for equality, justice

Children should be taught about colonialism and the role of the British Empire as part of the ­national curriculum, says Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn lays a brick during a visit to West Nottinghamshire College Construction Centre in Nottingham. Picture: Getty Images

Children should be taught about colonialism and the role of the British Empire as part of the ­national curriculum, according to Labour’s race and faith manifesto.

Businesses would be compelled to report on the pay gap faced by their black, Asian and ethnic minority employees and a race equality unit would be established in the Treasury.

But Labour’s launch on Tuesday faced being overshadowed by more rows about anti-Semitism after Britain’s Chief Rabbi wrote a stinging rebuke of the party’s handling of the issue, and Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was “staggering” that Labour “see fit to lecture people about race and faith”.

Under Jeremy Corbyn’s plans an “emancipation educational trust” would be formed “to ensure historical injustice, colonialism and role of the British Empire is taught in the national curriculum”. The trust would also address the legacy of slavery and teach about how it “interrupted a rich and powerful black history”.

Pay gap reporting, which presently is limited to gender, would be extended to ethnic minority groups for businesses with at least 250 employees if there is a Labour government after the December 12 election.

The party will also vow to end “rip-off” charges for passports, visas and tests from the Home ­Office, while the race equality unit would review spending announcements for their impact on ethnic minorities.

Mr Corbyn said Labour was “the party of equality and human rights”, adding: “Our race and faith manifesto presents our unshakeable commitment to challenge the inequalities and discrimination that has faced too many communities.”

Ms Patel hit back by attacking Labour’s record on anti-Semitism. “It’s staggering that Corbyn’s ­Labour see fit to lecture people about race and faith while they are investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for the rampant anti-Semitism in their ranks,’’ she said.

“Not charging people who want to come to the country for visa and immigration services means UK taxpayers will have to pay instead. The bill will be more than £1.5bn ($2.8bn), money that could otherwise be spent on schools and hospitals.”

In an unprecedented intervention into politics, which he ­described as “amongst the most painful moments” of his career, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said “a new poison” had taken hold in ­Labour “sanctioned from the very top”.

Rabbi Mirvis wrote in The Times that Mr Corbyn’s claim to have dealt with all allegations of anti-Semitism was “a mendacious ­fiction”.

Labour, he said could no longer claim to be the party of diversity, equality and anti-racism. Its ­record on anti-Semitism in opposition, he says, left him asking: “What should we expect of them in government?

“It is not my place to tell any person how they should vote. I ­regret being in this situation at all. I simply pose the question: What will the result of this election say about the moral compass of our country? When December 12 ­arrives, I ask every person to vote with their conscience. Be in no doubt, the very soul of our nation is at stake.”

Allegations of anti-Semitism have plagued Labour and Mr Corbyn since he was elected to the leadership in September 2015. Thirteen Labour MPs have quit the party since 2017 at least partly in protest at its handling of anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn has insisted repeatedly that he is not anti-Semitic and the party has defended its processes for dealing with complaints.

Rabbi Mirvis’s comments come after Tony Blair, the last Labour leader to win an election, criticised Mr Corbyn’s manifesto as an unachievable wish-list and suggested that Britain should vote tactically for a hung parliament.

The former prime minister said that Mr Corbyn’s plans would “end badly”, refused to endorse him as fit to run the country and gave him little chance of a maj­ority. He described Britain’s politics as “utterly dysfunctional”.

The Times