Election results: Labour's 'grotesque offence' to Jewish voters costs them seats

MPs and councillors believe the recent anti-Semitism scandal at the Labour party has had a detrimental effect on the party after losing seats which previously had "generations" of Jewish support. In an uneasy night for Labour which they "hung on" to several councils but look set to finish third overall in Scotland, the party lost the vote in several wards and constituencies with have significant Jewish communities.

In the Scottish contingency of Eastwood – where around half of all Scottish Jewish population live - Labour lost control to the Conservatives and finished third overall with 30.6% of the vote. Gemma Doyle, the former Labour MP for West Dunbartonshire, also tweeted that the loss in Eastwood, in Glasgow, was "almost certainly" down to the party's anti-Semitism row.

Elsewhere, despite remaining in overall control of Bury Council, Greater Manchester, Labour lost three of its seat in the constituency known for its large Jewish population in towns such as Prestwich.

Bury Council leader Cllr Mike Connolly believed the recent suspensions and investigation into anti-Semitism from within the party has "clearly had an impact" in how the public voted. He told Bury Times: "I think it was a dirty campaign from the Tories, particularly in Sedgley, but we have obviously suffered with the Jewish vote there."

Alan Quinn, Sedgley's Labour councillor in Sedley which the party lost to Conservative candidate David Silbiger, said the party had lost two "hard-working and proud" councillors because of a "backlash" against the party following high-profile suspensions including that of former London mayor Ken Livingstone.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "It's down to one person, and that's Ken Livingstone. He has caused grotesque offence to the Jewish population in Prestwich with his absolutely awful comments. Our councillors put their hearts and souls into representing the area and there really is no place in the Labour Party for bigots like Ken Livingstone."

Labour MP John Mann, who confronted Livingstone in the wake of his comments about Adolf Hitler being a Zionist, also believes Jewish voters have left the party of the anti-Semitism row. He told the BBC: "It is clear that the Jewish vote, which for generations in families has been Labour, has gone against Labour tonight. We have seen that in Bury, we have seen it in Glasgow, I think we will see it tomorrow in parts of London. This is a huge challenge, it's going to define Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. He has to lead from the front and get on top of this problem."