Which other MPs could join the breakaway group?
Several Conservative and Labour names are in the frame
Following the resignation of eight Labour MPs to form the breakaway Independent Group, there is much speculation in Westminster over the prospect of further departures from both Labour and Tory ranks, with some reports suggesting as many as 30 Labour MPs could jump ship.
Here we consider some names in the frame.
Ian Austin
The Dudley North MP has repeatedly condemned the Labour leadership over its handling of the antisemitism row that has plagued the party.
Emerging from a heated Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) meeting on Monday, Austin said: “If that’s the response from the leadership, it will make the situation much worse. I think you could see more people considering taking the same course of action.”
Ruth Smeeth
Smeeth was apparently reduced to tears during the PLP meeting when she begged party bosses to get to grips with complaints of antisemitism.
The Stoke-on-Trent North MP, who has been a victim of antisemitic abuse, raised a case of a member who said she and fellow Jewish MP Louise Ellman “did not have human blood”.
Ian Murray
The Edinburgh South MP is at odds with the leadership over its Brexit stance and he has previously resigned from the front bench as he did not believe Jeremy Corbyn could be prime minister.
He has stopped short of resigning as he says Labour remains the “best vehicle for change”, but he warned that others could still walk out if Corbyn continued to “foster a culture of bullying and intolerance”. Peter Kyle
The Hove MP (pictured above) has said he will not quit the party but admits he is unhappy with the leadership.
The pro-EU MP is fighting for “confirmation referendum” on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, where MPs would agree to back the prime minister’s plan if it is put back to the people.
He said the MPs who left were his friends, adding: “Listening to them was humbling. We owe it to ourselves and our party to listen, reflect, and act with humility.”
Phil Wilson
The Sedgefield MP has joined forces with Kyle with a bid to break the Brexit deadlock through a confirmatory vote on May’s deal.
He has not said he would quit the party, simply retweeteing deputy Labour leader Tom Watson, who said it was a “deeply sad day for the Labour Party”.
Conservatives
Anna Soubry
The Broxstowe MP sparked rumours she was planning to quit when she removed the Conservative Party logo from her Twitter feed yesterday.
Soubry said she had “nothing to say” on the issue yesterday but her name has featured in speculation about possible Tory defectors.
The pro-EU MP has defied her party in key Brexit votes and continues to campaign for a Final Say referendum
Heidi Allen
The South Cambridgeshire MP is reportedly on “resignation watch”, although she has not commented on the Independent Group’s formation.
Allen has spoken out in favour of a second referendum and she has also challenged the government repeatedly on welfare reforms.
Nick Boles
Ex-minister Mr Boles is another pro-European Conservative rumoured to be considering his future after he did not explicitly rule out joining the breakaway group.
The Grantham and Stamford MP has joined forces with Labour’s Yvette Cooper to try to thwart a no-deal Brexit through a recent amendment to Theresa May’s Brexit motion.
He tweeted: “The MPs who set up @Independent Grp_ today are all good people. I completely understand why they felt driven to leave the Labour Party.
“I have not spoken to any of them about their plans and am totally focused on working with MPs of all parties to stop no-deal Brexit on 29 March and to promote Common Market 2.0 as the best Brexit compromise.”
Sarah Wollaston
The Totnes MP and Health Committee chair is also on resignation wartch and recently set hares running with a critical tweet about “Blukip” activists taking over her party.
Wollaston, who campaigns for a Final Say vote, warned: “There will be nothing left at all to appeal to moderate centre-ground voters.”
She is reportedly facing a deselection threat from her local association over her Brexit stance.