When Armando Iannucci sat down to write his award winning series “The Thick of It”, he probably never thought Westminster would become more farcical than his fictional scenarios. If some young whippersnapper had pitched the events of this week to Iannucci as suitable for the programme, he would have almost certainly rejected them as too absurd for TV.
Any assessment of the Week in Westminster has to start with everyone’s favourite villain, Ken Livingstone. Labour MP, Naz Shah found herself in some serious bother when it was revealed she had backed a plan to relocate the state of Israel to the United States of America, prior to becoming an MP. After characteristic Corbyn dithering, Shah was suspended and apologised. The whole thing was mightily uncomfortable for the Labour party, but by Wednesday evening there was a sense the news agenda might move on.
But oh no! Ken Livingstone had totally different ideas. On Thursday morning, in the process of defending Shah on a radio he suggested Adolf Hitler was a supporter of Zionism before he “went mad…ending up killing 6 million Jews”. This prompted calls for his removal from the Labour party.
Enter John Mann MP. A long-time campaigner on anti-Semitism, he confronted Livingstone as the former Mayor of London toured the TV stations calling him a “disgusting Nazi apologist” among other things. So forceful was Mann’s criticism, Livingstone was forced to take cover in a disabled toilet as he tried to give another radio interview. By 1.30pm, Livingstone, who had earlier told the press pack he had wanted to spend the day gardening, was suspended by the Labour pending investigation.
The whole episode reinforces the perception Labour has a problem with anti-Semitism within its ranks, and as long as the likes of Livingstone add fuel to the fire, Corbyn and co will find it very difficult to move on.
In other news
After two years of hearing evidence, and weeks of deliberation, the jury finally returned its verdict in the Hillsborough Inquest. By a majority of 7-2 the jury determined that the 96 people who died at the game were unlawfully killed by gross negligence.
The House of Commons, led by Andy Burnham and Theresa May, came together to praise the Hillsborough families for their staggering 27 year campaign to secure justice for the 96. South Yorkshire and West Midlands police forces will face legal proceedings, and the legal action will not stop here.
Elsewhere, junior doctors conducted the first full walkout in NHS history over the imposition of new contractual arrangements, actively opposed by the British Medical Association. The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected a Labour plan for compromise and told the Commons the BMA “wanted war” over the issue. A resolution to the dispute seems some way off.
The issue of refugees once again came before the Commons as it voted down a Lords proposal to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees in Europe to settle in the UK. Yvette Cooper was applauded by Labour benches in the House after criticising David Cameron’s position at PMQs on Wednesday.
The EU referendum campaigning continued with the Leave campaign seeking to turn the focus from trade to immigration, after President Obama’s intervention last week. The Housing and Planning Bill continued to take a battering in the House of Lords, and the Trade Union Bill did not fare much better. The Lords seems to be the primary source of opposition to the Government at the moment.
So, you might say, it has been an interesting week! With local elections next week, expect the drama to continue.