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Jo Bird is a British Jewish politician who has been the Labour and Co-operative Party councillor representing Bromborough Ward, on Wirral Borough Council, Merseyside, since August 2018.

She is an active member of Unite the Union as well as other trade unions. She is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour.

Early life and career beginnings
Jo Bird was born into a family with Jewish heritage in Birkenhead, Wirral.

Her Jewish great grandparents had been forced to leave their homes in Eastern Europe before World War II to escape anti-Semitic persecution.

Socialist and trade union values were also part of Bird’s early life. From a young age she campaigned for better working conditions for ship building workers at Cammell Laird ship yard in Birkenhead or regularly supported the Labour Party in election campaigns. During the premiership of Margaret Thatcher her parents took in miners during the 1980s miners' strikes and as a teenager she collected money to feed them.

Jo Bird has worked with Co-operatives UK for 26 years, including many years spent working in Derry Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Political career[edit]
As an active supporter of Unite the Union and other trade unions, Jo Bird has campaigned against in-work poverty and other injustices.

As councillor for Bromborough, she has led a campaign to achieve justice for residents in New Ferry and Port Sunlight whose homes were damaged in the New Ferry gas explosion of 2017.

As part of her council work, she was appointed to serve on two outside bodies, Bromborough Pool Conservation Area Advisory Committee and Port Sunlight Conservation Area Advisory Committee.

Suspended - for a play on words
On 4 March 2019, Jo Bird was suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation into allegedly antisemitic remarks made in May 2018 at a meeting in support of political activist Marc Wadsworth. Wadsworth had been expelled for "grossly detrimental" behaviour after a confrontation with Labour MP Ruth Smeeth in 2016.

The remarks contained the phrase 'in Jew process', a play on words for 'in due process'.

A recording of Jo Bird's speech was leaked to the Jewish Chronicle.

A blog written by Jo Bird for Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) mentioned Labour members such as Mr Wadsworth and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone:

"JVL is campaigning with others to overturn Marc Wadsworth’s unfair expulsion, clear his name and to defend Jackie Walker (who is black and Jewish) and others earmarked for the next phase in expulsions.

"JVL is calling for disciplinary hearings to be paused until a due process has been established based on principles of natural justice. What I call Jew process."

Speaking on Monday 4 March 2019, Jo Bird said: "I am sorry for any offence caused by my play on words - that was not my intention."

During the controversy over her suspension, veteran film maker Ken Loach said in her support: “If it looks like a witch hunt and behaves like a witch hunt – it may well be just that. This is intolerable and must end now.”

Jo Bird was reinstated as a member of the Labour Party following an internal investigation.

Citations