It was important and right that Labour’s conference approved the rule changes the party had been instructed to make by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
But the idea that some have sought to push that Sunday’s vote in favour of the changes represents some sort of triumph for the party, for Keir Starmer or for the Jewish community, and that we can all now happily embrace Labour once more without reservation, is grotesque.
The clue is in the word ‘instructed’. Labour had no choice but to adopt the rule changes. The EHRC’s damning investigation required it to do so. It deserves no credit for simply agreeing to obey the law.
And a substantial number of delegates — around a quarter — refused to support the new rules. They believed, in other words, that the right for the party to provide a home to antisemites was more important than acting lawfully.
