The first challenge Sir Keir Starmer set himself as Labour leader was to rid the party of antisemitism after a widespread perception that anti-Jewish hatred too often went unchecked under Jeremy Corbyn.
He issued a full apology to Britain’s Jewish community, stepped up monitoring of antisemitic conduct from Labour members, and removed the party whip from Mr Corbyn. Sir Keir was delighted when Luciana Berger, who was driven out of Labour by antisemitic abuse, rejoined the party last year.
There is now a danger that this work may come partially undone. Two Labour candidates have been suspended for making criticisms of Israel that strayed beyond the usual confines of foreign policy discourse.
Questions remain over whether the party leader acted quickly enough in the case of Azhar Ali, who was allowed to remain the candidate for the Rochdale by-election for 48 hours after news broke of his comments.
At least he was more swift when it came to Graham Jones, suspended only an hour after the recording of his remarks on Israel were revealed.
Sir Keir should be on top of the world: his party is ahead in the polls. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak faces further headaches with bad news on the economy expected from inflation and GDP stats as well as the expectation his party will lose two upcoming by-elections.
The emotive issue of the Israel-Gaza conflict has previously caused trouble for Sir Keir, with some Muslim voters and activists unhappy with the extent to which he initially backed Israel’s military response to the Hamas terror attacks on 7 October.
But equally, there are many members anxious for him to show leadership to ensure Labour is never again perceived as a party where antisemitism can linger.