Labour MP John Mann: "The eight should announce themselves."https://t.co/TLPEhQJJPw

— Kevin Schofield (@KevinASchofield) September 5, 2018

When I look at the way Labour are handling the who anti-Semitism story I end up sounding like the late great Fred Trueman, ‘I don’t know what’s going off out there’.

After the events yesterday I would have drawn the line under the whole affair and moved on to targeting the many areas the government are screwing up. But those eight MPs coupled with those that abstained will ensure the story continues and Labour, including their leader, will be perceived as being on the wrong side of anti-Semitism.

I wonder if some in the Labour party are of the same mindset as former Corbyn adviser Steve Howell, as exemplified in the tweet below.

This is the worst possible argument against challenging Corbyn on antisemitism. It is worth doing even if not a single voter noticed because a man who wants to be PM should be held to account for his views https://t.co/6b4wWVKbpX

— Matt Chorley (@MattChorley) September 5, 2018

Perhaps the Tories should consider the following attack lines.

If I were a Tory strategist I'd be hammering home this message

"Jeremy Corbyn is more focussed on Palestine than on the concerns of people in Peterborough. He would rather talk about Hamas and Israel than about housing and immigration". https://t.co/nGt0ecq8k6

— TSE (@TSEofPB) September 5, 2018

TSE