Ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone Quits Labour Over Anti-Semitism ‘Distraction’
Image by Getty Images
Former London mayor Ken Livingstone resigned from Britain’s opposition Labour Party on Monday, saying that a row over anti-Semitism allegations against him had become a distraction for the party’s leadership.
Livingstone, the mayor of London from 2000 and 2008, was suspended from Labour after he said in April 2016 that Hitler had supported Zionism.
Last year Labour extended that suspension, but party leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced accusations that he has been too soft on anti-Semitism in the party.
Livingstone, a veteran socialist, denied in a statement on Monday that he was guilty of anti-Semitism.
But he added: “I also recognize that the way I made a historical argument has caused offense and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.”
“Any further disciplinary action against me may drag on for months or even years, distracting attention from Jeremy’s policies,” Livingstone said.
“I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party.”
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
