Jess Phillips: Why I didn't quit Labour's over the anti-Semitism crisis
13 January 2020, 13:52 | Updated: 13 January 2020, 14:09
Jess Phillips told James O'Brien that she stayed in Labour during the crisis around anti-Semitism to ensure that she could fight it from the inside.
The Labour leadership candidate admitted she considered following Luciana Berger and other MPs out of the party over the allegations of anti-Semitism that dogged Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.
However, she said she feared for the party if she was replaced by someone who refused to stand up to the problem.
She said: "On many occasions I felt quite tempted. The Luciana thing shook me very very deeply. It was the episode of Panorama where I wobbled the most.
"Not only was our movement intolerant of the Jewish community, but also those brave staff - Jewish or otherwise - had been bullied and harassed and I just thought this is unrecognisable to me as a party."
James asked why she didn't walk, but she revealed: "If I hadn't stayed, I would just have been replaced by somebody who might not have spoken up.
"You have to focus on the outcome. You have to focus on what you want to see change. I could change nothing from the outside.
"Those that walked away incredibly courageously, it felt for those of use that stayed, it barely moved the dial."
Watch her passionate response at the top of the page.
