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Labour leader hopefuls urge unity amid swipes over anti-Semitism during first hustings debate

PA
PA

Contenders in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader today called for party unity as they jostled for position in the first hustings of the campaign.

The event in Liverpool saw the major candidates battle for dominance in the contest which will see a new leader of the opposition announced in early April.

Left-wing shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, who has been backed by Momentum, told the audience divided parties do not win elections.

Prominent backbench critic of Mr Corbyn Jess Phillips also said the “name-calling2 within the party had been "horrendous" as she called for Labour to build a “broad team”.

The five contenders took part in a hustings in Liverpool (PA)
The five contenders took part in a hustings in Liverpool (PA)

Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour members should stop fighting each other and concentrate on attacking the Tories.

Ms Thornberry said: “Being leader of the Labour Party in opposition is, quite frankly, the worst job in the world.

“That’s what we are applying for. In the end we have to wade through an awful lot of s***t.”

Lisa Nandy and Keir Starmer share a joke during the event(PA)
Lisa Nandy and Keir Starmer share a joke during the event(PA)

Shadow Brexit secretary and early front-runner in the campaign, Sir Keir Starmer, agreed there had been “too much division”, adding: “We are unstoppable when we are united.”

He went on to get one of the biggest rounds of applause from the Liverpool audience for saying he would not give an interview to the Sun newspaper during the campaign.

“The attacks on Jeremy Corbyn were terrible. They came back on us on the doorstep,” he said. “It’s going to happen again and we need to cut through that.”

Ms Long-Bailey also took a tough approach towards the media saying she had experienced her “fair share of smears in the last few weeks”.

She also went on to urge unity in the party, arguing that divided parties do not win election.

Calling for everyone to “reunify and rebuild”, she said: “We have to be honest that over the last four years we haven’t been united.”

Brexit, anti-Semitism and the party's failed election bid dominated the discussion (PA)
Brexit, anti-Semitism and the party's failed election bid dominated the discussion (PA)

Ms Long-Bailey said it was not acceptable for Corbyn supporters to have been branded members of a “cult” or those on the other side of the debate to be told to “F-off and join the Tories”.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy added: “We raise the bar, we defend one another and we move forward together."

Despite this, there were moments on conflict in the debate, including when Ms Phillips took a swipe at some her fellow contenders for keeping quiet over anti-Semitism in the party.

Ms Long-Bailey, Ms Thornberry and Sir Keir are all part of Mr Corbyn's top team.

She said: “The Labour Party needs a leader who has spoken out against anti-Semitism, and other forms of harassment in fact.

Rebecca Long-Bailey said divided parties do not win elections (AFP via Getty Images)
Rebecca Long-Bailey said divided parties do not win elections (AFP via Getty Images)

“When others were keeping quiet and somebody who was in the room, struggling for an independent system – lots and lots of meetings – I have to say I don’t remember some of the people here being in that particular room or being in those particular fights.”

Ms Phillips said that the Labour Party’s handling of anti-Semitism had meant it had lost the “moral high ground” to fight racism.

She added: “Jewish people were scared of Labour winning the election.

“That’s deeply serious. The Labour Party has now lost the credibility to handle its own complaints system.

“We have lost the moral high ground to fight racism in this country because of the way we have handled anti-Semitism.”

But Ms Thornberry said she had always been clear about standing up against racism.

She said that the Labour Party should kick out anti-Semites in the same way "Oswald Mosley was kicked out of Liverpool".

"I tell you what Jess {Phillips], I have always been clear about it and I always will because it's unacceptable, it undermines us as a party and undermines our soul," she said.

"What we should be doing is kicking out these anti-Semites in the same way Oswald Mosley was kicked out of Liverpool in 1937."

Sir Keir also responded, saying he had “spoken out out on the radio, on the media” about the need for change as well as in shadow cabinet behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Ms Nandy said the Conservatives were not really interested in the former Labour seats they had won in Northern England and Wales in the general election.

She said: “The Tories are talking about investing in the so-called ‘red wall’ seats.

“But, what they don’t understand is that this was a clamour for power, agency, and control, and they will never give it to people.

“Labour must.”