Antisemitism and Islamophobia weaponised

 The Forde report into antisemitism in the Labour party, finally released after a two-year delay, confirms what many outside observers gathered. As the Guardian summarised this week:

Destructive infighting in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn meant antisemitism was often used as a “factional weapon” by his critics and denied by his supporters, a damning report into the party’s culture has found.

The Forde report details “toxicity on both sides of the relationship” between Corbyn’s office and Labour headquarters, which seriously hampered the party’s ability to fight elections.

It also lays bare how senior Labour staff displayed “deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory, attitudes”.

It seems to me that the party is still suffering from the heavy-handed strategy of leader Sir Keir Starmer, who may well have driven out valued activists from the Muslim community who were by no measure racist. But it is to the party's credit that it commissioned this report. One wonders if the Conservative party would ever dare carry out the same introspection.