Starmer had previously suggested that Corbyn return as a Labor MP if he apologized for a statement made in the wake of the Equality Observer’s report on anti-Semitism. However, speaking to the Guardian on Monday, the Labor leader said there was now a bigger obstacle to his return. “Among the very clear changes to the Labor Party that I have made, one is our approach to anti-Semitism, where I said I would uproot it. “And that obviously led to the removal of the whip from Jeremy Corbyn because of his response to the Committee on Equality and Human Rights.” “And the other thing is to say that there is no place in the Labor Party for this false equivalence between Russian aggression and NATO, which is why the leader whipped wrote letters to Labor MPs on both of these issues. “I could not be clearer about the Labor Party I lead.” The Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted the leader of the Labor Party to write to all Labor MPs who had signed a Stop the War statement, warning them of disciplinary action if they did not withdraw their names. Former shadowy cabinet ministers Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, key Corbyn allies, also withdrew from a “Stop the War” rally. Corbin signed the statement and spoke at the rally. The resolution urged NATO to “stop its eastward expansion” and blamed the British government for “slaps” on Ukraine. He has since told Jacobin he was “terrified by the war in Ukraine, terrified by the loss of life,” but defended Stop the War, saying “there is no evidence that they have done anything other than defend peace around the world.” . Asked if this meant Corbyn could not return until he too had renounced his association with Stop the War, Starmer said no one “should have any doubts” about where the Labor Party stood and these two issues, “for our unwavering support for NATO and for the elimination of anti-Semitism.” He said that the conditions for being a Labor MP were “very clear”. “This is the Labor Party I lead.” There have been private attempts by some left-wing lawmakers to pass a resolution on Corbin’s suspension in recent months, which would include a further apology, but sources on both sides said efforts have reached a dead end. Although Corbyn was re-admitted as a Labor member, Starmer did not allow him to take the Labor whip, meaning he could not sit as a Labor MP. In a letter from the chief whip, Corbin had said he should pledge to support the party’s efforts to comply with the guard’s recommendations and to apologize outright for the statements made after the critical report. The former Labor leader’s allies had previously suggested that they did not believe Starmer’s office was ready to hold good-faith talks and were seeking a deal negotiated for readmission after a clarification statement was never ratified.
