Some more contenders for our antisemitism examples dossier. (Warning: highly offensive, racist content.)
David Baines was the first Labour member I formally complained about. In this instance, I raised the issue with the secretary of Middlesbrough South Cleveland CLP in July 2018 and he referred it to the party’s complaints unit. A couple of months later, I learned that Baines had resigned his membership after being placed under investigation.
Baines wasn’t just a ‘paper member’. I met him in 2016 when he attended various Momentum Teesside events. He also participated in his local party branch (Saltburn). We knew he was eccentric – he had asked for a spot at a Momentum meeting to demonstrate an invention of his that could supposedly heal all manner of ailments and solve the global energy crisis – but that seemed harmless enough. He was, and probably still is, Facebook friends with numerous Labour and Momentum members.
Baines’s antisemitism seems to be driven by the usual conspiratorial nonsense. The examples here showcase his posts about Jews, but he likely believes that Jewish people are behind most of the stuff he also posts about climate change being a hoax, anti-vaccine, chem trails, lost ancient civilisations and wisdoms, and so on.
As is often the way, Baines has Facebook friends from a wide range of political perspectives, but a significant number appear to be North American far-right activists. These mix with New Age types into ‘healing’, UFOlogists, environmentalists and Labour members.
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