Blair allies plot to quit Labour for new party

BRITAIN: Close allies of former UK prime minister Tony Blair have drawn up plans to create a new political party if Labour crashes to a historic defeat in the British election next month and have already received pledges of funding if it is needed, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Blair has said he wants to see the moderates reclaim control of Labour after the election. But some of his political allies have concluded the party cannot be saved from the clutches of the hard Left and that a ‘‘plan B’’ will be required.

A source who used to work for Blair said: ‘‘People are waiting to see just how bad the damage is on June 9. They will look at the results and say, ‘Is this horse a dead horse or can it still be revived? Some people have already come to the conclusion that it can’t and therefore something else will have to be born.

‘‘They’re certainly entertaining possibilities they wouldn’t have entertained before. The unthinkable is being thought.’’

Donors are already standing by to fund a new party. ‘‘Don’t underestimate the genuine love most people have for the Labour Party,’’ the former Blair employee said. ‘‘But if it was to go the other way, the money would be there.’’

Most of the moderates seeking reelection as MPs are convinced they should first try to wrest the party from Jeremy Corbyn and his hardLeft acolytes by seizing control of Labour’s governing body, the national executive committee (NEC).

They also want to bring back the old leadership election rules, which give MPs far more voting power than individual members.

Last week it was reported that, if Corbyn cannot be ousted, up to 100 potential Labour MPs are considering making a unilateral declaration of independence from the party leadership, sitting on the benches as a new grouping, which would potentially be called the Progressives.

It is understood that this theory has been discussed by possible leadership contenders, including Dan Jarvis, a former paratrooper.

Another friend of Blair said: ‘‘I think the priority after the election is to get control of the NEC and get the leadership rules changed.

‘‘The party now needs fundamental reform and overhaul. It cannot survive without it. Once control has been regained, this task can begin with a new leader prepared to undertake it. If we do not get such a leader, then we have to think again.’’

The Labour moderates are not confident they can remove the influence of the hard Left since party rules say only 15 per cent of Labour MPs are required to endorse a candidate for a leadership ballot.

Corbyn’s allies are on average in safer seats than the moderates.

‘‘Fifteen per cent of 150 MPs is nothing,’’ said a Blairite. ‘‘The moderates can do the maths, which is why they are starting to think other thoughts.’’

Despite Blair’s repeated denials that he is planning a new centre party similar to the Social Democrats, some of those who worked with him in government are understood to be prepared to set up a new party from scratch.

The plotters have been emboldened by comments last week by Lord Mandelson.

Asked about the French presidential victory of Emmanuel Macron, he said: ‘‘The simple truth of Macron’s victory is that he won by leaving his party, not despite doing so.’’

Mandelson’s friends say he has not yet given up on Labour. Senior Liberal Democrats say Blair has been talking ‘‘very regularly’’ to Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader. Their discussions have focused on how to respond to Theresa May’s Brexit positioning rather than on the creation of a new party.

But one close ally of Clegg recently told a leading Blairite that the Labour moderates could attempt a reverse takeover of the Lib Dems and quickly gain control of the apparatus, removing the need to start another party from scratch.

The Blairite said: ‘‘One of Clegg’s mates said: ‘You moderates in the Labour Party, if you wanted to just take us over you could just join, it would be yours.’’’

Some would like to see David Miliband, the former foreign secretary, return from America to become leader of the moderates. But they expressed exasperation that he had not contested a seat at the general election. A former frontbencher said: ‘‘Where was he? He should have been in this fight.’’

Miliband reportedly sounded out veteran MPs about them making way for him but did not find any takers in the party’s dwindling number of safe seats.

Allies of Tim Farron have indicated that he might be persuaded to rename the party. One of his aides had a discussion with Labour MPs and Tory proEuropeans last year in which a party called the Democrats was discussed, a title that has previously been advanced by Lord Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader.

Yesterday’s YouGov poll for The Sunday Times shows that 58 per cent of people think Corbyn should go if he loses the election, three times the number of those who would like to see him stay. But among Labour voters the judgment is much more balanced - 42 per cent think he should stay, 44 per cent that he should go.

Blair might need to keep a low profile in any breakaway. Only 8 per cent of voters said they would be more likely to support such a party if the former prime minister was a key figure in it.- Sunday Times