Labour forced to dump another general election candidate over anti-semitic social media posts
2 min read
Labour has suspended another general election candidate amid allegations of anti-semitism.
Safia Ali had been due to stand for the party in SNP-held Falkirk on 12 December.
But she was dumped after posts she made on Facebook in the past came to light.
Ms Ali is the third Scottish Labour election candidate to either stand aside or be kicked out over anti-semitism.
A Labour spokesperson said: "Safia Ali is no longer the Labour Party's candidate for Falkirk. We have taken immediate action on this matter. We deeply regret Safia Ali was selected."
A party source told PoliticsHome the posts had been made on an older Facebook account used by Ms Ali - who stood against Labour as an independent candidate in a 2017 council election - which were not picked up during their candidate vetting process.
The move comes after Scottish Labour was forced to dump Caithness candidate Bill Curran for expressing his support for former MP Chris Williamson, who claimed the party had been "too apologetic" in its response to anti-semitism.
Meanwhile, the party's candidate in Gordon, Kate Ramsden, decided to quit following a row over posts she had made on Facebook which compared Israel to an abused child who becomes an abusive adult.
Scottish Labour general secretarty Michael Sharpe said he felt "deep regret" that voters in Falkirk would not have a Labour candidate to support on 12 December.
He added: "There is no place for antisemitism, or any form of racism and bigotry, in our party. That is why Labour is taking robust action to root it out of our movement and wider society.
"The party has significantly strengthened our procedures, with swift suspensions, new processes for rapid expulsions and an education programme for members.
"While I cannot go into details about individual cases, I can confirm that the party has acted immediately and decisively to remove this candidate."
The removal of Ms Ali comes just days after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to apologise to the Jewish community for his party's handling of anti-semitism.
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