Seven months ago, Jeremy Corbyn was leader of Britain's Labour Party.
Today, Corbyn was suspended by the Labour Party.
The suspension came after Corbyn dismissed a report issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which, after a nearly 18 month investigation, concluded that the party under his leadership had breached Britain's Equality Act where it concerned political interference in anti-Semitism complaints, failure to provide training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints and harassment.
Keir Starmer, who succeeded Corbyn as Labour Party leader in April, said, "It is a day of shame for the Labour Party. We have failed Jewish people...I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused."
When Starmer assumed the party's leadership I wondered about his seriousness in combatting anti-Semitism. My doubts were significantly removed in July when Starmer sacked his leadership rival, Rebecca Long-Bailey, from the Shadow Cabinet after she refused to delete an anti-Semitic retweet.
But this is quite something else. A former leader of the Labour Party suspended. Corbyn is now an independent MP. This isn't to say Labour couldn't reverse the suspension. But given Corbyn's reaction to the damning report, he left Labour little choice. This is the best thing they've done in five years.
Assuming Labour doesn't reinstate Corbyn or otherwise resist efforts to stop anti-Semitism, Starmer will have the space necessary to compete with Boris Johnson whose incompetence in handling of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly rivals that of President Trump. In the long run, Britain will have a loyal opposition ready to responsibly assume the reigns of power should the voters be prepared to grant them such a responsibility.
Mind you there won't be another election in Britain until May 2024 by which time COVID-19 could be a distant memory or a time voters simply wish to forget. Whatever the outcome of that vote, it is certain that Labour would not be given another chance to govern until it repudiated Corbynism and its willful hatred of Jews. Today was a giant leap in the right direction.
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