Ian Austin quits Labour over ‘anti-Semitism’. His own? What about the warmongering? And…
Ian Austin: Abusive, warmongering, treacherous.
It is hard to believe Ian Austin’s claim to be leaving the Labour Party because of anti-Semitism when his own behaviour towards Jewish people can hardly be considered exemplary.
Skwawkbox has re-published an account of a rant at Jewish author Michael Rosen by the Dudley North MP. My own take on that story is here.
But dig into Mr Austin’s past and there seem to be many more reasons to celebrate his departure as “no loss” to Labour (to quote Chris Williamson MP, another victim of Mr Austin’s aggression).
There certainly seems to be no love lost between him and his Dudley North constituents. After the 2010 election he had a majority of just 649. This improved to 4,181 in 2015, after a scandal involving a Tory candidate named Afzal Amin, but just two years later Mr Austin had squandered all of that goodwill and more. His majority in that constituency now stands at just 22 votes.
No wonder he won’t be standing in a by-election to justify his choice!
He was one of a large number of then-Labour MPs who abstained on the Tories’ Welfare Reform and Work Act when it was working its way through Parliament in 2015 – indicating that he supported the idea of an arbitrary benefit cap being applied to poor families.
When, in 2015, George Osborne hypocritically led Conservative MPs through the “Aye” lobby in support of a Charter for Budget Responsibility that he had said was unnecessary five years before, Mr Austin abstained in a gesture of defiance against the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and the financial policies of John McDonnell, who had just delivered a speech brilliantly trashing the Tories’ claims that Labour had caused the financial collapse of seven years before.
He was heavily criticised for in-fighting against Jeremy Corbyn – especially after he welcomed the news that Isis executioner Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, had been killed in an airstrike, in contrast with Mr Corbyn’s wish for that man to be brought to trial.
He voted in support of pointless air strikes in Syria in December 2015 – against the Labour whip – but his vote counted for nothing as the motion would have been carried without it.
Warmongering Mr Austin also voted against an inquiry into the Iraq War, and when Mr Corbyn made his speech in response to the Chilcot Report on that war, that MP shouted from the backbenches, “Shut up!” and “You’re a disgrace!”
I think we can all see who the disgrace really was.
He was included on a list of “abusive” MPs which was wrongly dubbed a “deselection list” by some of the people on it.
When Labour tabled a motion calling for the UK to end support for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, Mr Austin abstained.
He signed a letter in support of “trial by bigotry” of Labour members accused of anti-Semitism, calling for every accusation to be considered proof of guilt, in breach of the most fundamental principle of British justice – the fact that people are innocent of any crime until they are proven guilty.
When Theresa May’s Tory government was floundering, unable to secure a Brexit deal that Parliament could support, Mr Austin offered to help her.
He was issued a disciplinary letter by the Labour leadership after he uttered a foul-mouthed stream of abuse at Ian Lavery.
So Mr Austin is a foul-mouthed, abusive, treacherous, warmongering supporter of austerity who complains about anti-Semitism but has abused at least one Jew himself. No loss? I’d say Labour is much better for his departure.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Here are four ways to be sure you’re among the first to know what’s going on.
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (in the left margin). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
labour is richer with his departure bye bye
anti-Semitism is just a stick to beat Jeremy Corbyn with (& the Labour Party) which is then picked up by MSM (all anti-JC) which they will exaggerated to be most wounding.
It’s interesting that he never appears on our tv screens unless it’s part of the latest screaming match, liberally decorated with the latest wounded soul of whatever religious persuasion or none, all with their newly sharpened knives.
Anti-Semitism is more than a stick to beat Mr Corbyn. It really does exist, and people really do fall into anti-Semitism without realising what they are doing.
It just so happens that it is also being used as a stick to beat Mr Corbyn.
But do you see what you did there?
You said it was “just” a stick to beat Mr Corbyn.
That is why the campaign using it as an excuse to criticise Mr Corbyn is unacceptable.
It diminishes genuine anti-Semitism.
If you’re going to be snotty nosed with your nit picking I will unsubscribe. I didn’t realise this was just a writing class for teacher to get satisfaction by getting humpy.
Do you have a problem with what I wrote? If so, why not explain what it is, rather than hurling insults?
Cannot find subscribe
Top of the left-hand column on each page, just beneath the link to the Vox Political Facebook page.
He may be “no loss” to £abour but this is as much about perception as anything and the anti-Corbyn people have found a very effective weapon. The fact the M.P.s are willing to quit the Party will be seen by some, perhaps many, that the accusations that are being levelled at Mr. Corbyn are true. This departure, along with the others, will be seen as “proof.” Mr. Austin claims that Mr. Corbyn has allowed a climate of anti-Semitism, bullying and intolerance to take root and that he is not fit to be Prime Minister. We have heard many criticisms of Mr. Corbyn’s foreign policy and his economic outlook and all of these latest resignations will add weight to those. This is highly damaging. That Mr. Austin has no joined the Independent Group, puts the spotlight well and truly onto Mr. Corbyn, because this resignation appears not to be about Br’exit.
Aye, anti-Semitism is real but why is it being portrayed as a problem of the £eft, moreso under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, than as a problem of people? Why is it a thing? Given that most people can’t tell a Jew from a packet of crisps, where has all of this alleged anti-Semitism come from? Why are Jews in the spotlight, suddenly? There are for more recognisable groups of people who are more regularly subject to abuse who are not in the spotlight so, to me, it makes not sense, other than to suspect that much of it is not genuine. The sad and frightening thing is that by keeping the spectre well and truly alive, it will increase the incidences of genuine anti-Semitism and even create a climate in which it is normal. This, in my view, is highly irresponsible. How many people, who are not politically minded, knew that any of these M.P.s was Jewish? The other thing, of course, is that certain persons will claim that they alone know what anti-Semitism is and will hurl accusations of the same at will, with no explanation, no dialogue and no desire to educate, or persuade, or change people’s minds, merely to label and either create, or increase division; I have both witnessed and been subject to this abuse. Aye, it is abuse. I have been labelled an anti-Semite and it has been suggested that my Jewish friends are not real, which is incredibly hurtful. This kind of behaviour does nothing to dispel anti-Semitism, it merely breeds more intolerance.