October 05, 2025
In a stunning moment on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, former Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt claimed that UK trade unions and professional bodies are “openly antisemitic”—and that Jewish professionals are being forced to pay them in order to work.
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The remarks came during a segment on institutional bias and professional gatekeeping. Mordaunt, who recently co-chaired a Board of Deputies commission on antisemitism, stated:
“In this country, you have to be a member of particular professional bodies and trade unions in order to get the indemnities to be a teacher or an independent social worker. Some of those organisations are openly antisemitic, and you can't ask people in this day and age to pay subs to an organisation in order to work in the profession that they want to.”
The accusation triggered immediate backlash, with Labour MP Lucy Powell visibly stunned by the claim. She responded:
“I don’t know what evidence she’s got for that—that’s not something I recognise.”
???? BREAKING: Penny Mordaunt claims UK trade unions are “openly antisemitic”—and that Jewish professionals are forced to pay them to work. @LucyMPowell questions what evidence supports these claims #JamRadio #bbclaurak #sundayvibes pic.twitter.com/CVZO52cl6A
— Jam Radio UK News (@Jam_RadioUK) October 5, 2025
Fallout and Fact-Checks
The clip, shared by JamRadio, has gone viral across social media, with union members, educators, and social workers demanding evidence. Critics have pointed out that union membership is not legally required to practice in many professions, and that Mordaunt’s comments risk smearing entire sectors without substantiation.
One viewer wrote:
“How dare Penny Mordaunt use the vile events in Manchester to falsely attack trade unions for being antisemitic and operating closed shops. No examples. No evidence. Just an anti-union Tory hit job.”
Others questioned whether Mordaunt’s remarks were coordinated with broader efforts to discredit civil society organisations that have historically opposed Conservative policy.
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Editorial Analysis
Mordaunt’s comments go significantly further than the Board of Deputies report she co-chaired, which criticised sectors like education, healthcare, and the arts for failing to include Jewish concerns in EDI frameworks—but stopped short of calling them antisemitic.
By naming trade unions and professional bodies as “openly antisemitic,” Mordaunt has escalated the conversation into dangerous territory—where vague accusations risk becoming institutional slander.
