Corbyn is accused by Smith as she joins MP revolt
‘Values are no longer valid in today’s Labour Party’
YORKSHIRE MP Angela Smith launched a blistering attack on the Labour leadership, as she resigned from the party along with six colleagues at a shock Westminster event yesterday morning.
Ms Smith, first elected as a Labour MP in 2005, was one of a handful of backbenchers who resigned from the party to create a new Independent Group in the House of Commons.
The others were Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Mike Gapes and Ann Coffey. Ms Smith later sparked a row after she appeared to describe black people as having a “funny” tint or tinge.
In a searing statement at the launch of the new group, she spoke about her family background and the sense of working class pride that had driven her to leave the party.
She said: “Most people are like my family. They do not want to be patronised by left-wing intellectuals, who think being poor and working class constitutes a state of grace.
“What they do want is for a fair crack of the whip and the opportunity to succeed.
“They also believe that everyone in our country bears a responsibility to make a contribution towards keeping our society safe and prosperous.
“But these values are no longer valid in today’s Labour Party. That is why I have made the very painful decision to resign my membership and come an independent MP.”
Responding to the resignations, many of Yorkshire’s Labour MPs expressed regret that col-
Most people do not want to be patronised by leftwing intellectuals. Angela Smith, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge
leagues felt they needed to leave the party and to set out their own position.
In a Facebook post Leeds MP Rachel Reeves wrote: “The decision today from some colleagues to leave our party is incredibly sad.”
But she added: “I am Labour to my core and am immensely proud to be the Labour MP for Leeds West... I want a Labour Government that governs in the interests of the many and not the few.”
On Twitter, Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh wrote that it was a “desperately disappointing day for the party I joined 15 years ago, divisions and splits only ever serve to prolong Tory rule and damage to our communities,” while Wakefield MP Mary Creagh said: “I am heartbroken that my friends felt they had no choice but to leave our party.”
However, just hours after the launch, Ms Smith was plunged into a race row after she appeared to describe black people as having a “funny” tint or tinge on the BBC’s Politics Live show.
Asked about black and minority ethnic voters, she replied: “It is not just about being black or a funny tin... you know, different – from the BME community.”
In a video released afterwards on social media said she apologised for any offence the appearance may have caused.
She said: “I am very sorry about any offence caused and I am very upset that I misspoke so badly. It is not what I am. I am committed to fighting racism wherever I find it in our society.”
Responding to Ms Smith’s resignation, her local party called on her to do the “honourable” thing and trigger a by-election.
Penistone and Stocksbridge Constituency Labour Party, said it hoped she would “stand as an independent in the constituency, which will give her supporters the opportunity to voice their support and allow the Labour party to move on and challenge her at the ballot box”.