Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey over Israel tweet

Keir Starmer has sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey, his former leadership rival, from the shadow cabinet. The former shadow education secretary had tweeted approvingly an interview in which the actor Maxine Peake said the tactic used by American police of kneeling on someone’s neck was learnt from the Israeli secret services. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “As leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.”

This was a litmus test moment for Starmer, who came into office promising a radically different approach to anti-semitism than his predecessor. In his acceptance speech, Starmer said he would “tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of our Jewish members.” It therefore seemed inevitable that he would take action when the Board of Deputies of British Jews released a statement earlier today condemning Long-Bailey. “Rebecca Long Bailey’s response is frankly pathetic. As someone who aspires to be the next Education Secretary, we would expect her to read and understand materials before sharing them. If she is incapable of doing this, it raises serious and immediate questions about her suitability for the role,” the statement said.

There had also been a sense in Starmer’s team that Long-Bailey’s tweet was consistent with a larger problem she had with anti-Semitic views. One Starmer staffer noted to The Times’ Gabriel Pogrund that “Long Bailey failed to condemn a member who blamed the ‘Israel lobby’ for the election defeat during a leadership hustings in February. If the Peake thing was an exception we might be having a different conversation.” In his team’s calculation, Starmer’s swift action both boosts his reputation as a no-tolerance antiracist and removes a long-term liability.

The Labour left is predictably outraged. In a statement, Long-Bailey highlighted that Starmer’s office had agreed to the wording of her clarification before asking her to take it down. “I wished to acknowledge these concerns and duly issued a clarification of my retweet, with the wording agreed in advance by the Labour Party Leader’s Office, but after posting I was subsequently instructed to take both this agreed clarification and my original tweet down,” she said. John McDonnell is being less diplomatic, tweeting: “Throughout discussion of antisemitism it’s always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not antisemitic. I don’t believe therefore that this article is or [Rebecca Long-Bailey] should have been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.”

McDonnell’s denial of the problem is a reminder of what Labour members turned their back on several months ago. There’s not much the former shadow chancellor and his disciples can do now, and Starmer’s team knows it. Hence today’s ruthless dismissal.