More MPs could leave
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been warned of a further wave of resignations after seven MPs quit the party yesterday over bullying, antiSemitism and Brexit in the worst Labour split for nearly 40 years.
Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey and Mike Gapes announced their resignations to form a new ‘‘Independent Group’’ in the House of Commons.
They were immediately labelled the ‘‘Gang of Seven’’, after the ‘‘Gang of Four’’ who quit to form the movement that became the Social Democratic Party in 1981, in Labour’s last big schism. That divide was followed by 16 years of Conservative government.
Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, said the party could face more ‘‘days like this’’ as he directly challenged Corbyn’s authority by say- ing that at times he ‘‘no longer recog- nises’’ his own party, following a takeover by the hard Left.
He urged Corbyn to reshuffle his front bench to help bring Labour back into the ‘‘mainstream tradition’’, and said he would develop alternative policies with backbenchers.
Leslie, who resigned as shadow chancellor after Corbyn’s election as leader, said would be ‘‘irresponsible’’ to allow the opposition leader to become prime minister. ‘‘In all conscience, we can no longer knock on doors and support a government led by Jeremy Corbyn or the team around him.’’
Berger accused Labour of being ‘‘institutionally’’ anti-Semitic and racist. Gapes said Corbyn posed a threat to national security, while Smith said she no longer wanted to be ‘‘patronised by Left-wing intellectuals who think being poor constitutes a state of grace’’.
All seven MPs criticised Labour for "facilitating" Brexit as they called for a second referendum.
Corbyn issued a short statement expressing his disappointment at their departures, while John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, challenged them to do the ‘‘honourable thing’’ by resigning their seats and fighting by-elections.
While the Labour leader attempted to sound conciliatory, the party’s youth wing branded the MPs ‘‘cowards and traitors’’, and Corbyn supporters online denounced them as ‘‘Blairite Tory parasites’’ and claimed they ‘‘work for Israel’’.
The Daily Telegraph understands that at least seven other Labour MPs are considering quitting the party and joining the new Independent Group. This is significantly fewer than the 30 Labour MPs who were said to have been in talks over quitting and forming a new party. A senior Labour source said they had been deterred by Umunna and Leslie taking leading roles in the new group.
At least one Conservative Party minister and four Conservative MPs are understood to be considering joining the breakaway. A delegation of Remain-supporting cabinet ministers yesterday warned Prime Minister Theresa May that 22 ministers and members of the government could quit in an attempt to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Watson said the seven MPs should not be seen as ‘‘traitors’’, but that their resignations were a symptom of a wider issue. ‘‘Betrayal narratives and shouting insults at the departed might make some feel better briefly, but it does nothing to address the reasons that good colleagues might want to leave,’’ he said. – Telegraph Group
‘‘We can no longer . . . support a government led by Jeremy Corbyn.’’ Chris Leslie, breakaway MP