Two-thirds of Labour members do not believe the party has a “serious” antisemitism problem, while a majority either blame Jeremy Corbyn’s political opponents or the mainstream media for accusations it has faced.
A poll of 1,185 party members by YouGov found that over half would oppose a trade deal with Israel after Britain leaves the European Union, with only 31 per cent in support of such a deal.
A possible deal with Russia was backed by 42 per cent of respondents, compared to 40 per cent who opposed it, while less than a quarter were against a similar deal with China.
The poll was commissioned by Mainstream, a new cross-party campaign group combating political extremism, to be led by former Labour MP Ian Austin.
Only 23 per cent of those surveyed agreed that the party has a “serious” antisemitism problem among its membership, and 37 per cent blamed accusations of antisemitism on “political opponents who want to undermine Jeremy Corbyn”.
A further 17 per cent blamed “the mainstream media”, while 29 per cent attributed them to “a small minority of Labour Party members with antisemitic views,” and 13 per cent said it was the fault of the party’s leadership.
The vast majority also backed ditching the nuclear deterrent, and almost half were in favour of Britain abolishing its borders and allowing people to decide where they want to live.
Nearly two-thirds said the UK should remove the monarchy, and 43 per cent reported feeling “ashamed” about Britain’s history over the last three centuries, compared to only 15 per cent who said they were proud.
Forty per cent said Western foreign policy was equally accountable for terror attacks on British soil as terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Isis. Twenty-nine per cent blamed terror groups more, while 28 per cent blamed Western foreign policy more.
Similarly, a third of respondents said the British Government and its army was to blame for the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Mr Austin, who quit the Labour Party in February, told the Sunday Times: “The party of today is not the one I grew up in. It has been consumed by a culture of extremism and intolerance.
“Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour has become a safe haven for antisemites. Those who have taken a stand against this corrosive evil within have been intimidated and even driven from the party but we will not be silenced.”
The Dudley North MP added that Mainstream would “shine a spotlight on those who peddle extremist views”, and called for “tolerance and respect to be restored to political debate and for extremism to be driven from public life”.
