Some polls are claiming that Labour will lose up to 150 seats in the local elections this week.

An example of you get what you wish for!

Sources - most UK newspapers!

A perfectly engineered Tory smear campaign. Bravo.

Lol. Antisemitism is ingrained into the "progressive" left, Tories didn't need to lift a finger. The only surprising thing here is that people are actually surprised.

It's hardly a smear when Red Ken openly calls Hitler a "Zionist", is it? According to the Grauniad, it's a smear campaign orchestrated by Corbyn's own party .

For a little context, its a week before the local elections and right wing blogger Guido Fawkes publishes a tweet made by a Labour MP several years back (before she was in office) that was said to be anti-semitic.

Corbyn takes decisive action and suspends her. Soon after Ken Livingston tries to defend her in an interview and is then ambushed by Pro-israel shill John Mann (who just so happened to be there with a full TV crew ) to call him a Nazi apologist.



There seems to be a willing coalition between right wingers and disgruntled back bench Labour MPs who will do anything to topple Jeremy Corbyn. The Tories are floundering on so many issues, and yet Labour are getting all the negative headlines and manufactured crisis.

The Tories smear, that is what they do through their sympathetic news media barons, whether its trying to paint Labour Mayoral Candidate as a Muslim extremist or Corbyn and McDonnell as Hezbollah and IRA sympathisers.

Corbyn will not even say the word Israel, he describes Hamas and Hezbollah as 'friends'. Naz Shah posted on facebook about relocating all Israeli's (Jews) to America, there are many other incidents, and our dear old Ken has a long history. No one forced them to say or post these things. This is just scratching the surface of it. What goes around and all that.

Erm, there's a little more to it than that though, isn't there?

So, if it comes from the right, it's a "smear", if it comes from the left, it's "exposing the truth".

Exactly, Labour and the Left have been screaming "RACIST" at anyone and everyone for years. Boot's on the other foot and they don't know what to do. Maybe now they'll think of something else to shout at people they don't like.

Thing is, the right don't have to do a thing, the Labour party is collapsing under its own steam.

I know how best to sort this, let's send Diane Abbott onto Marr...

Whether or not its true that Hitler supported Zionism in the early 30s, how does that make Ken Livingstone an anti-semite? He was actually quoting from a book written by a Marxist Jewish author (Lenni Brenner), and his comments were not far off those made by Israeli PM Netanyahu.

Israel will always have a problem with the Left wing, that doesn't mean they can simply dismissed as anti-semites and racists. Real anti-semitism is ugly and obscene and is devalued by this political play by Israel and her allies.

Nope, anti-semitism is not engrained in the political left. Pacifism is and it is therefore pretty hard to agree to Israeli realpolitik. Big difference but Israel and European conservatives love to play the "anyone who doesn't agree is anti-semitic" card...

Anti-semitism is indeed ugly. However it's starts small and grows if left to take root. It is taking root, and it is getting ugly. It needs to be stamped out, and I am pretty happy that these numptys are getting bashed now

It makes me nostalgic for Alastair Campbell.

I did my degree at a UK university 1987-1990. At the time, it was evident that a number of NUS officers (not all) were using anti-Zionism as a cover for their anti-Semitism. It still goes on. Anti-Zionism is, in my view, irrevocably tainted by anti-Semitism, and the more left-wing members of the Labour party have been fostering it. My guess is that many of politicos haven't a clue what Zionism is, nor of its prevalence in Israel or Jewry as a whole.

Ken Livingstone has stated that Hitler was a Zionist "before he went mad".

He also said Perhaps he's just phrasing himself badly, but in context he seems to be implying that it's ok to hate the Jews in Israel. Transcripts here. Nobody forced him to say these things. He wasn't tricked into them. He did it all by himself. Ken is a deeply unpleasant man and always has been, as any reader of Private Eye will know.

I've no problem with people criticising Israel. I do it myself. It's when it spills over to a hatred of the country, and supporting its enemies -no matter how vile they are.

__________________
Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

Perhaps you feel that way. And I can understand people's objection to Israel. But many are unable to distinguish the difference between the people and the country, so that in UK politics and for the wider Left anti-semitism remains an issue.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...eorge-galloway

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...ewish-identity

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...-jeremy-corbyn

I entirely agree. Labour have done this to themselves. It's a shame. A strong opposition is necessary to counter even the most decent and caring government - how much more when it's Cameron and his cronies!

Decrying it as a rightwing smear campaign (even if it were true, which I don't think it is), will be seen as an attempt to deflect away from a very serious issue. Especially following the pathetic response of the Labour Party leadership.

A deeply unpleasant man who won two terms as London Mayor? For the three years I worked in town I would frequently see him get on the tube at Kilburn, interacting warmly with fellow passengers of all races and religions. That says more to me than lurid headlines and whipped up media frenzy.

Let's be fair then and add that Israel does everything they can to blur the line between the state and the religion (not just the people who live in Israel, but all Jews around the world). I cannot help to get the impression that this is a very handy problem to have and foster for the political opponents...