Starmer facing a tough choice.

The Labour candidate crossed a line when he went beyond merely criticising Israel to invoke conspiracy theories.

Yet it took Starmer two whole days to renounce him and then he only did it because he was bounced into it by the media. Why?

I can tell you based upon my own former experience in the party. The rule book is not applied evenly. It is used as a tool against left wingers rapidly and on the slightest pretext whilst Blairites and centrists and those on the right of the party are protected. The rules have long been used in a partisan way to wage a factional campaign against left wingers whilst right wingers get a free pass. Indeed, in my experience any complaints against right wingers breaking the rules tend to be ignored. One right wing Labour councillor down here even assaulted a party member, yet because he was of the correct faction no action was taken. Had a left winger done that he would have been suspended almost immediately and shortly kicked out of the party. The rules are rarely enforced even-handedly. They are enforced much less severely and often not at all against those of the correct faction.

This is why those of us who were once inside the party hold it and it's rules in utter contempt. Anyway, the above needs to be understood to understand why it took two whole days for Starmer to act, and why he only did so when media criticism forced him to. You see, the candidate is a party right winger, a centrist, a Blairite. The rules don't exist to sanction their own faction, merely the left. Doing absolutely nothing about this candidate because he is on the right of the party is actually their default reaction. Only when the media forced his hand did Starmer react.

And this is the problem in Labour. Those in charge do not see the rules as a set standard for all, to be enforced even-handedly in the interests of natural justice. The rules are seen as a partisan tool to wage factional war against internal party enemies. They tend to not enforce them against their own unless they have to.

Having seen numerous instances of this up close and personal is a major reason why I do not trust, and never will trust, the bastards currently in charge of the party. Many of them in my experience are in it for themselves, with few principles not up for sale, no compromise they will not make to get where they want to be.

Understand what I have said about the way they see the rules as a factional tool only to be deployed against their internal enemies and you understand why Starmer took so long to take action.