In 2015, British MP Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the British Labor Party. The media and his many supporters hailed him as an authentic politician and leader who was honest, ethical and direct. However, in 2019 Corbyn resigned as Labor leader; in 2020 he was expelled from the party.
Corbyn is the subject of The Labor Files, a four-part Al Jazeera documentary that reveals how his apparent “fall from grace” happened. A group of senior officials within the UK Labor Party appear to be conspiring to remove him due to recent leaks of internal Labor party emails, documents, social media messages and more.
Episode 1, “The Purge,” details how members of Corbyn’s party launched an elaborate campaign to weaken his leadership. Many party members who support Corbyn are undergoing a “purge”. You’re either being bullied or accused of anti-Semitism or whatever. Many were either removed from leadership positions or suspended from the party altogether. This “split” of the Labor Party stems from the conflict between the left and right factions. Corbyn is on the left, and the left is supported by a majority or official Labor membership. The right, however, wields power behind the party and holds the top jobs.
Episodes 2 “The Crisis” and 3 – “The Hierarchy” take us behind the scenes of the so-called “anti-Semitism crisis” that is said to have plagued the Labor Party under former leader Jeremy Corbyn. In the years leading up to the 2019 general election, Corbyn came under relentless attack, claiming he was unfit to lead the party, that he was anti-Semitic and tolerated such behavior within the party.
Because of this, he lost the 2019 election and resigned as Labor leader. According to the leaked document, this is because Corbyn was very critical of the way Israel treats the Palestinians, which sparked further discussion that just because one is critical of the Israeli state/government’s policies and occupation does not mean one is anti-Semitic. The series went on to expose Labor’s inherently racist culture towards its Black, Asian and Muslim members, effectively disregarding due democratic process.
Episode 4, The Spy Game, finally revealed how Labor leaders used hacked data to effectively spy on their members, especially those who publicly criticized or questioned the party.
The class struggle within the Labor Party is an example of what is happening in many democracies, not just in the UK but around the world. Cheating, manipulation, sharing, and other unethical behaviors seem to be the norm now. Labor, of course, has denied all claims made on the show, saying it is “a rules-based organisation, always acting in accordance with laws, party constitutions, job responsibilities and reasonable standards of proportionality”.
Directed by: Phil Rees
