It was, of course, important and right that Gerry Downing should have been expelled from the Labour Party. But it is simply bizarre that he should ever have been readmitted in the first place — and that says much about the party under Jeremy Corbyn.

But even for today’s Labour Party, where extremism is the new mainstream, Mr Downing’s blatant antisemitism was too much of a hot potato. Which is, at least, some small comfort to those who wish to see a Labour Party that represents more than a fringe.