Labour leadership candidate Owen Smith opens the contest with a disgraceful smear against Corbyn [View all]

[Ken Burch]

http://www.thecanary.co/2016/07/20/labour-leadership-candidate-owen-smith-opens-contest-disgraceful-smear-corbyn/

Angela Eagle has dropped out of the Labour leadership campaign, leaving Owen Smith as the only candidate to challenge Jeremy Corbyn.

Unfortunately, Smith has chosen to begin the one-on-one contest with a disgraceful smear, suggesting Corbyn has “encouraged” antisemitism, racism and misogyny within the Labour party.

The MP for Pontypridd opened his attack with the following:

We have had a massive problem recently with misogyny and intolerance in the party, anti-Semitism, racism and the awful way in which women in the Labour movement have been treated. It’s been appalling to witness this, heart-breaking.

But a spokesman for Corbyn denounced the accusations, stating:

Jeremy has consistently condemned all violence or abuse and called repeatedly for a kinder, gentler politics.

He was the first leader of a political party to launch an inquiry into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism in their own party.

Most significant is the conclusion from the inquiry. Flying in the face of the entire establishment media coverage back in May, this is the verdict:

The Labour Party is not overrun by anti-Semitism.