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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of acting too slowly about concerns over anti-Semitism within the party and that’s come from Sadiq Khan who says his prospects of becoming the next Labour mayor of London  have been damaged by the row.  Well Jon Ashworth is the Shadow Cabinet Minister without Portfolio and a member of the Labour party’s ruling NEC and he joins me now from Leicester, a very good morning to you.  We can see on other issues there preparing to celebrate if the results go right for Leicester City, we’ll have a question about that in a moment or two but on the issue of anti-Semitism, do you agree with Sadiq Khan that it is damaging Labour’s prospects in the upcoming elections?

JON ASHWORTH: Well let me say that the Labour party is not anti-Semitic, we abhor anti-Semitism, we are resolute in our opposition to anti-Semitism. That’s why Jeremy did the right thing in suspending Ken Livingstone in the last few days, it’s why Jeremy did the right thing in setting up an inquiry and has said we are going to take some guidelines for the National Executive Committee but of course these last few days have been very depressing for us Labour activists who want to see us winning next week. People touring the studios going on and on and on about this haven’t helped us so I hope Ken, who has been doing that, now pipes down a bit because it hasn’t been helpful.

DM: You say you are going round the doorsteps, are you hearing it on the doorsteps?  The prospects don’t look too good for Labour anyway with some predictions saying you could lose 150 council seats, that overall your national share is down below 30% again.  

JON ASHWORTH: Well look, we’ll see where we are on Thursday evening and Friday morning but  what I want to be talking about is the fact that school class sizes are rising and schools are seeing their budgets cut, NHS waiting lists are rising, it is harder to see a GP, that George Osborne’s budget was a shambles and that he wanted to cut support for the most vulnerable and disabled people – these are the issues that we want to be talking about.  Now we have obviously had an issue on these remarks from Ken Livingstone and others this week but that’s why Jeremy moved quickly to set up an inquiry, to suspend Ken Livingstone, that was the right course of action but we now need to be talking about the issues that affect people like schools, like hospitals and the state of the economy.

DM: But why not just throw him out altogether, he is only suspended?

JON ASHWORTH: Because I think it is appropriate that due process is followed. He needs to put his case, I think we know what his case is, he’s spent the last three days touring studios telling us his case but nonetheless he has the right to put his case to the National Executive Committee, to the disputes committee which is currently scheduled to meet after the referendum in July.  We have a process that has to be followed, that’s only fair and right and proper but I have to say this, activists and individuals in the party who make anti-Semitic remarks have no place in our party, they’ll be kicked out of our party and that is the right course of action.

DM: What do you think about the actions and reaction of your colleague John Mann who so publicly upbraided Ken Livingstone in Westminster?  There are those within your party – and this is a sign of how divided your party is – there are those within your party who have now got a petition up to deselect him.  

JON ASHWORTH: Well John Mann lost his cool, it’s not how I would have reacted but John Mann was hauled in to see the Chief Whip and the Chief Whip did have to talk to John Mann and John Mann as I understand it, I wasn’t in the meeting but as I understand it agreed that that’s not the way to behave on live television. Nonetheless John Mann didn’t make the offensive comments that Ken Livingstone made so I think Jeremy did the right thing in suspending Ken Livingstone and as I said, we don’t need Ken going around the studios, we need to be focusing on the Tories, attacking the Tories, not undermining Jeremy and fighting for every vote in these upcoming elections.

DM: But as Ken Livingstone and his supporters are still saying, they detect a hidden agenda, or not so hidden, that this is – and Ken Livingstone was explicit about it as he always is – that this is being carried out by embittered Blairites.  Would you count yourself amongst those people?

JON ASHWORTH: This is just silliness. I’m not an embittered Blairite, I’m a member of Jeremy’s Shadow Cabinet, I’m proud to be in Jeremy’s Shadow Cabinet and I was deeply offended by what Ken said.  He shouldn’t have said it, it’s as simple as that.  This isn’t about Blairites in the Labour party, when you come across offensive comments we should say we have no place for those in the Labour party, that’s what it’s about.  We shouldn’t reduce it to some sort of factional game in the Labour party, these are bigger issues and we should treat these issues with more seriousness.  We are not an anti-Semitic party, as I said we are resolute in our opposition to anti-Semitism, Jeremy set up an inquiry and we are taking guidance on the National Executive, these are the correct and right actions but Ken needs to pipe down now, we need to be focusing on these elections next week and as I say, I want to be talking about the fact that waiting lists are rising for the health service, that you can’t see a GP, that class sizes are rising in our schools.  These are the issues that we need to be campaigning on and talking about in the Labour party, going after the Tories and not going on about what Ken said all the time.

DM: Well that has been said hasn’t it, that all this in-fighting within the Labour party it is almost as if – and we’re going to talk about football in a moment or two but it’s almost as if politically you have got a bit of an open goal there and of course the big issue of Europe with Conservative MPs and Ministers criticising each other’s position on that, you’ve got this open goal but it’s like you’ve tied each other’s football laces together and can’t hit the target.

JON ASHWORTH: Well that’s a great metaphor and it is frustrating.  Look, there is stuff in the papers today saying David Cameron wants to move George Osborne, that should be leading the headlines that there is this rift opening up between David Cameron and George Osborne yet we are still talking about this.  If we come across anti-Semitism in the Labour party we deal with it, it is disgusting, it is abhorrent, we’re opposed to it and it is right that we deal with it but do you know what, did  Ken really need to be going round the studios for three days when we’ve got local elections next week?  I’m afraid I don't think he did.  We need to be going after the Tories, we need to be talking about the fact that George Osborne’s budget completely descended into utter chaos and shambles when he tried to cut four billion from the most vulnerable and disabled people in society.  We need to be talking about, as I say, the fact that teachers are leaving our schools as the Tories try to force through an academisation programme which Tory councillors are coming out and opposing.  We need to be talking about the state of the health service, so yes, I have sympathy with the point you make there, we want to be talking about our opposition to the Tory government and we need to be fighting for every vote in these crucial elections next week.

DM: See what I did here now?  That gives me an easy line into the next question, well we hope that doesn’t happen don’t we, certainly to Leicester fans at Old Trafford today.  It is going to be no pushover, there is a big doubt about whether the team will actually clinch it today.

JON ASHWORTH: Well it’s a tough game, United are fighting for fourth place don’t forget and we’re not taking anything for granted in Leicester.  We’ve all got our fingers crossed, we know we’re on the verge of it but we are not taking it for granted, there are still three games left, not easy games but I’ll tell you what, without wishing to do a terrible Kevin Keegan impression, I would so love it if we went to Old Trafford today and won the title there.  

DM: Okay, Mr Ashworth, thank you very much.  Jon Ashworth there, live in Leicester.