Former MP hits out at 'spiteful' and 'disrespectful' treatment of Jeremy Corbyn as she quit Labour after 40 years

Former Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker, who lost her seat at the 2019 election, said she was “disappointed” by the suspension of the whip from former leader Jeremy Corbyn, but that was not the only factor that had led to her “very emotional” decision.

She said support for teaching unions and positions on key votes such as the Human Covert Intelligence Sources Bill had disappointed her.

She said: “I’m a former headteacher and teacher, and the lack of support for the teaching unions over what teachers and heads are facing with Covid from a Labour Party, I would have expected far more support for what is going on in schools and the unions that are supporting the teachers and senior leadership in schools.

“And I've been disappointed in the way the whip’s gone on key votes, on the Human Covert Intelligence Bill, for instance, to abstain on that [...] is not something I expect from the Labour Party.”

But she said it was the treatment of Mr Corbyn which had topped off a “rough few months” in the party.

She said: “I was obviously disappointed that we didn't win last December, and I was a little disappointed that Jeremy was no longer a leader, but I spoke in good faith when I said I will give my full support to Keir.

“That was sincere, and I did mean it, but he did stand for the leadership saying that he would support the manifesto policies, and unite the party.

“And I can see our manifesto policies - well, I don't know what our policies quite are at the moment - but I can see them being watered down bit by bit.”

She added: “What I feel is that some of the behaviour at the moment isn't quite honourable.”

It comes after Mr Corbyn was reinstated as a Labour member three weeks after he was suspended over his response to a scathing Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report.

However, Sir Keir has refused to allow Mr Corbyn back into the parliamentary party.

Ms Walker said the treatment of Mr Corbyn was “spiteful” and “disrespectful to somebody who was twice elected by the membership”, pointing to the rejection of his House of Lords nominations by the House of Lords appointment commission as another example, as well as Labour’s recent “under new leadership” slogan change.

“I consider myself a friend of Jeremy, but I'm a critical friend”, she said. “And I actually would say if he’s got a fault, he is too nice. Maybe he should have been tougher in the past but to be treated like this is so, so unfair on him.”

Asked directly if Mr Corbyn was anti-Semitic, she said: “You’ve got to look at somebody’s track record, you've got to look at their life and how they've lived their life, and it's walking the talk.

“And he would admit that we were too slow to act. We were too slow to act on complaints, we didn’t handle it perfectly, he would admit that, but for years the systems have not been in place and they’ve not been the right systems.”

She said: “Look at the way he's voted throughout his life, how he's lived his life, the causes that he's fought for.

“When you know him and you look at his life, it just seems unbelievable to me what people claim about him.

“I am certainly not dismissing the significance and the hurt that has been caused by complaints not being processed quick enough, and that's about that systemic change I'm talking about and an independent complaints process that's needed, but I think it's highly unfair the accusations that have been made about Jeremy.”

Ms Walker said she would vote for Labour if an election was called tomorrow, and could be tempted to rejoin the party if the manifesto policies were upheld.

But she said: “I am disappointed in Keir because I think he's got himself in a position now where he's not pleasing the left, and he's not pleasing the right.

“And I am very disappointed in the behaviour of some of some of the PLP and some members.”

She said that although Labour had always had infighting, it was “worse than it’s ever been” now, and although she “could not say” whether she thought the party would split, she said she had “been approached by an awful lot of left groups.”

For now, she said she would remain “politically homeless”, but she added: “There is a real anger, I believe, on the left of our party.”

The Labour Party was contacted for comment.