EHRC Report
UPDATE: Following significant changes to both procedures and culture, the Labour Party is no longer being monitored by the EHRC.
This was set out in a statement by the EHRC on 15 February 2023 when it was also announced that monitoring concluded on 31 January 2023.
Even though this is a significant milestone for the Labour Party, we are determined to continue to drive out antisemitism wherever it is found.
The Leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer said:
“I am under no illusion that the job is done. Rather, I see today’s announcement as another signpost telling us that we are heading in the right direction. This is not a moment to celebrate. Instead, it is a moment of reflection; a time to apologise once again. Ultimately, our success will be judged not by me or by the EHRC or by how much effort we put in, but by whether those who were so badly let down feel ready to call Labour their party again”.
On Thursday 29 October 2020, the EHRC published its report relating to their investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party.
This report is the result of an investigation that was launched by the EHRC on 28 May 2019 in response to serious concerns about allegations of antisemitism and a number of formal complaints made to us.
The EHRC’s investigation was prompted by complaints made to the EHRC by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) in the summer and autumn of 2018.
Q&A
The report highlights “serious failings in the antisemitism complaint handling system”, “significant failings in the way the Labour Party has handled antisemitism” and “serious failings in leadership”.
The report finds:
- “A clear breakdown of trust between the Labour Party, many of its members and the Jewish community”;
- A culture that is “at odds with the Labour Party’s commitment to zero-tolerance of antisemitism”;
- Serious failings in leadership, processes and culture in dealing with antisemitism within the Party;
- Specific examples of unlawful harassment and unlawful indirect discrimination;
- “Clear examples” of inappropriate political interference in individual antisemitism cases;
- “An inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints” across our Party;
- Inadequate resourcing of the complaints process and poor record-keeping;
- A failure to deliver adequate training for all those responsible for investigating antisemitism cases; and
- Repeated failures to implement in full the recommendations of previous reports into antisemitism.
What are the key findings?
- Unlawful harassment through the acts of agents of the Party: the EHRC has found the Party to have breached the Equality Act 2010 by committing unlawful harassment of its members related to race (Jewish ethnicity) through the acts of its agents in two of the complaints they investigated.
- Unlawful indirect discrimination (political interference): the EHRC conclude that throughout the period they investigated, there was political interference in the handling of individual antisemitism complaints, and that this was indirectly discriminatory and unlawful.
- Indirect discrimination (training): the EHRC find that there was a failure to deliver adequate training to individuals responsible for handling antisemitism complaints and that this failure contributes to a lack of trust and confidence in the complaint handling system, meaning that this failure indirectly discriminated against Jewish Party members. However, the EHRC conclude that there is justification (for a period of six months from the date of their report) for the Party’s failure to provide practical training and so they do not currently make a finding that this is currently unlawful.
