More than 100 of Jeremy Corbyn's own supporters today called on him to apologise to victims of sexual violence, after ignoring requests not to attend an event partly organised by members of the Socialist Workers Party.
The signatories, which include members of Momentum, Labour and leading trade unions, say Corbyn's attendance at the "Stand up to Racism" (SUTR) event earlier this month allowed the SWP to "launder" their reputation and recruit vulnerable young activists into the fold.
"We refuse to see our movement, which is associated with your leadership, used to launder the reputation of an organisation and individuals who have shown a well-documented disregard for the interests and experiences of survivors of sexual violence…" the letter states.
"The SWP was trying to use the Stand Up to Racism event to recruit both university and sixth-form students, who may be unaware of its record on sexual violence…
"We call on you to apologise to survivors for speaking at the Stand Up to Racism conference and to explain properly why you reversed your decision not to attend. We also call on you to decline any future invitations to speak at events organised by members of the SWP and request that you refuse to share platforms with the party's central committee members."
The SWP have previously been accused of seeking to cover up allegations of rape and sexual violence within the party. Corbyn's office have since denied that the SUTR event was a "front" for the SWP. However, campaigners insist a number of the party's leading figures were involved in organising and promoting it.
Earlier this month campaigners made public a letter calling those speakers due to address the rally to withdraw. They say Corbyn's name was deliberately left off the letter after his office indicated that he would not be attending.
Several other prominent speakers did subsequently withdraw from the event. However, Corbyn's subsequent attendance caused fury among many of his strongest supporters.
Standing ovation as @jeremycorbyn takes to the stage at #stopracism2016 to chants of 'refugees are welcome here' pic.twitter.com/Bu6DZw5G2V
— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) October 8, 2016
A number of these supporters have since been working behind the scenes to persuade Corbyn to apologise and distance himself from the group. After failing to do so, 120 of them have today gone public with another letter condemning his stance.
"Jeremy has often emphasised he is a different kind of leader for a different kind of politics, the head of a social movement, receptive to democracy from below," Tom Gann from Southwark Momentum said today.
"Here he has shown to be tin-earred to concerns from those grassroots – twice. This is particularly troubling when he is being asked to do something regarding sexual abuse and women's safety in political spaces."
"We expected much more from Jeremy," added James Smith from Runnymede and Weybridge CLP.
"Jeremy said during his leadership campaign that he would tackle discrimination, sexism and particularly violence against women. We hope that Jeremy will show his commitment to these promises by withdrawing his support for SUTR."
One signatory to the letter told Politics.co.uk that they were "shocked" by Corbyn's stubborn refusal to bend on the issue.
They said that while in the past Corbyn had "piggy-backed" on events organised by the SWP, he needed to realise that he now represented a much bigger movement.
"That section of the Labour left have been in a minority position [within Labour] for years and so kind of piggy-backed on the SWP infrastructure. Five years ago the only way Corbyn would speak to a rally of 1,500 people would have been through these organisations. That's not the case now.
"His office say he just wants to move on. Of course he does. But he first has to acknowledge his mistake and promise not to make it again."
The names of a number of women supporting the campaign declined to be quoted because of because of fears of abuse from SWP members.
A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn today made it clear he would not be apologising.
"Jeremy will not attend SWP events and the Stand Up to Racism conference was not an SWP event," they told Politics.co.uk.
"Jeremy has condemned the SWP for its handling of the sexual assault issues, and is in the process of arranging a meeting with some of the signatories to discuss the issue of sexual violence."
A spokesperson for the group said in response:
"In terms of the necessity for an apology, we feel, although we do believe SUTR are an SWP front, the question of whether it is an SWP organisation is moot. The distress and anger felt by members of the groups who signed the original call at both Jeremy speaking and at being misled over this is real and should be acknowledged. If Jeremy genuinely believes SUTR are not an SWP front then we would ask him to have nothing to do with them until SWP figures, most notably, Weyman Bennett, the co-convener who is heavily implicated in the Comrade Delta cover-up are removed from key roles. If SUTR is not an SWP organisation this should be easy.
"In terms of the promised meeting we defer to the groups who signed the original call, we believe they are the best people to decide whether this is adequate and to guide the process more generally.
"We do remain strongly but critically supportive of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership for all the reasons detailed in our letter."
You can read the full letter from Corbyn's supporters below:
Dear Jeremy,
We, the undersigned, all of whom supported you in the Labour leadership election are writing to express both our alarm at your decision to speak at the Stand Up Racism conference after campaigners had been assured you were not speaking. We also wish to express our solidarity with survivors of sexual violence.
We agree with the grassroots groups calling for you to withdraw from the event that, “it is vital for women and non-binary people – particularly people of colour who wish to resist the racism they experience – to be able to organise politically without groups that facilitate or cover up sexual assault. The SWP and the campaigns they lead are demonstrably not capable of offering this” and we were pleased to hear that you had listened to them and decided not to speak. We were then shocked and disappointed to discover that you had gone back on your promise and spoken at the event.
We refuse to see our movement, which is associated with your leadership, used to launder the reputation of an organisation and individuals who have shown a well-documented disregard for the interests and experiences of survivors of sexual violence. Worryingly, as the organisation's “Party Notes” show (12th September), the SWP was trying to use the Stand Up to Racism event to recruit both university and sixth-form students, who may be unaware of its record on sexual violence.
We remain strongly yet critically supportive of your leadership and welcome your increased democratic mandate from the leadership election. We also fully back plans to reconstruct the Labour Party so that it can reach its full participative and democratic potential but, if we are to achieve this, the leadership needs to be receptive to comradely criticism from grassroots groups and respectful of the experiences this criticism expresses. We also believe that our movement must not ignore or marginalise these experiences for the sake of some spurious “unity”, or delay the resolution of these problems until some unspecified point in the future. In our movement, how we treat each other is part of our struggle.
We call on you to apologise to survivors for speaking at the Stand Up to Racism conference and to explain properly why you reversed your decision not to attend. We also call on you to decline any future invitations to speak at events organised by members of the SWP and request that you refuse to share platforms with the party's central committee members."
Tom Gann, Camberwell & Peckham CLP, Momentum Southwark
Tom Blackburn, Worsley and Eccles South CLP, Momentum Salford
Laura Dover, Glasgow Provan CLP
Sam Warren Miell, Croydon North CLP
Josephine Grahl, West Ham CLP
Katie Blythe, Canterbury CLP
Frances Grahl, West Ham CLP
Dominic O'Key, Leeds West CLP, Leeds Momentum
Tom Scriven, Manchester Withington CLP
Sam Rae, Leeds Central CLP, Leeds Momentum
Martin Leonard, Milton Keynes South CLP, Milton Keynes Momentum
Matthew Davies, Islington South & Finsbury CLP
Lukas Matisse, Lambeth Labour and Momentum
Sean Court, Boston and Skegness CLP
Sahil Dutta South Warwickshire Momentum
Jonathan Murden Durham City West CLP 16
Rosa Morris, Tottenham CLP
Joshua Wolens, Wellingborough CLP
Nick Bano, Streatham CLP
Andy Lockhart, Sheffield Central CLP, Sheffield CLP
Keith Ridgway, Camberwell and Peckham CLP, Southwark Momentum
Neil Ross, Walthamstow CLP
Tom Mills, Dulwich and West Norwood CLP, Lambeth Momentum
Joseph Corcoran, Labour International
Edward Dingwall, Nottingham South CLP
Harry Wright, Oxford Labour
Daniel Currie, Bolton North East CLP
Sarah Wishart, Camberwell & Peckham CLP
Ben Blackwell, Manchester Central CLP
Christopher Young, Bermondsey & Old Southwark CLP
Matt Turner, Monmouth CLP
Pete Hayward, Winchester CLP
Rebbecca Walsh, Camberwell & Peckham CLP, Southwark Momentum
James Sexton, North Wiltshire CLP, Swindon Momentum
Alison Phipps, Brighton & Hove CLP
Stephen Nowlan, Hackney South & Shoreditch CLP
Jen Morgan, Heywood & Middleton CLP. Momentum Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton
Alex Williams, Hackney South & Shoreditch CLP
Rosie Warren, Camden Momentum
James Smith, Runnymede and Weybridge CLP
Marie Clare, Enfield North CLP
Kieran Morris, Battersea CLP
Callum Cant, Brighton Pavillion CLP
Geoff Carr, Bexleyheath CLP
Michael Laversha, Gorton CLP
James Wheeler, Camberwell and Peckham CLP
Liam Gleeson, Glasgow Kelvin CLP
Ben R D Perkins, Camberwell & Peckham CLP
Ben Leonard, York Central CLP
Seymour Millen, Hammersmith CLP, Hammersmith & Fulham Momentum
Abi Wilkinson, Hackney North CLP
Hywel Roberts, Dulwich & West Norwood CLP
Arthur Salisbury, Manchester Gorton CLP
Dewi Afoko, Streatham CLP
Sam Foster, Bermondsey & Old Southwark CLP, Southwark Momentum
Tom Allen, Lewisham West & Penge CLP
Jon Rowett, Louth & Horncastle CLP
Ethan Wood, Crewe & Nantwich CLP
Victoria Pearson, Mid Beds CLP
Ben Beach, Manchester Gorton CLP
Fraser Watt, Hackney South & Shoreditch CLP
Joseph Robinson, Bournemouth West CLP
Harry Stopes, Streatham CLP
Joe Whittles, Walthamstow CLP
Hiren Desai, Finchley & Golders Green CLP, Barnet Momentum
Owen Hatherley, Greenwich & Woolwich CLP
Nick Srnicek, Hornsey & Wood Green CLP
Ollie Chamberlain, East Surrey CLP
Paul Fenney, Wythenshawe & Sale East CLP
Sally Gleeson, Cheltenham CLP
Jack Frayne-Reid, East Surrey CLP
Mark Seddon, Sheffield Central CLP, Sheffield Momentum
Charlotte Nichols Salford and Eccles CLP, Vice Chair/Women's Officer of Young Labour
Josh Kitto, Mitcham and Morden CLP
Tily Grove, Streatham CLP
Willow Lloyd, Hexham CLP
Riaz Meer, Shipley CLP
Robert Vaughan, Streatham CLP
Rhys Gould, Ludlow CLP, Momentum Sheffield
Nicky Brennan, Selly Oak CLP & Birmingham Momentum
Jessica Patterson, Macclesfield CLP, University of Manchester Labour Students
Chris Waugh, Leeds Central CLP and Leeds Momentum
Sam Fletcher, Skipton and Ripon CLP
Alex Roberts, Greenwich & Woolwich CLP
Richard Goulding, Sheffield Central CLP
Ginger Drage, Hammersmith CLP
China Miéville, Salvage, Camden Momentum
Ash Caffery, Momentum
Dan Hancox, Momentum
University of York Student Socialists
Laurie Besley, LGBT Officer, UNISON
Phil Roberts, UNISON member
Jamie Allinson, Salvage
Richard Seymour, Salvage
Jude Wanga, DRC Campaigner
Emily Reynolds
Michael Pattison
Dee McNicol
David Wearing
Juliet Jacques
Emma Edwards
Molly Smith
David Brand
David Cullen
Kevin Tuffy
Edie Miller
Isaac Pye
Hannah Boast
Matt Wilde
Robert J. Little
Oliver Kealey
Fred Horton
Robert Hesketh
Luke Healy
Tony Smetham
Tim Joubert
Kit Caless
Nicki Kindersley
Ben Pike
Charlotte Bradshaw
Josh Hall
Kate Ellen Doyle
Louise Hill
Rhian E. Jones
Claire Smith
Tom Foster
Charlotte Hall
