7 quit British Labor Party
Lawmakers cite Brexit and anti-Semitism for split with the main opposition group.
LONDON — Seven British lawmakers quit the main opposition Labor Party on Monday over its approach to issues including Brexit and anti-Semitism — the biggest shake-up in years for one of Britain’s major political parties.
The announcement ripped open a long-simmering rift between socialists and centrists in the party, which sees itself as the representative of Britain’s working class. It’s also the latest fallout from Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, which has split both of the country’s two main parties — Conservatives and Labor — into proBrexit and pro-EU camps.
Many Labor lawmakers have been unhappy with the party’s direction under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who took charge in 2015 with strong grass-roots backing. They accuse Corbyn of mounting a weak opposition to plans by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May for leaving the EU, and of failing to stamp out a vein of antiSemitism in the party.
The splitters — who have nine to 27 years’ experience in Parliament and represent constituencies across England — make up a small fraction of Labor’s 256 lawmakers, or of the 650 total members of Parliament. But it’s the biggest split in the Labor Party since four senior members quit in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party.
Luciana Berger, one of those who quit Monday, said Labor had become “institutionally anti-Semitic.”
“I am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation,” she said at a news conference alongside six colleagues.
Labor leaders have admitted that Berger, who is Jewish, has been bullied by some members of her local party in northwest England.
Labor has been riven by allegations that the party has become hostile to Jews under Corbyn, a longtime supporter of the Palestinians. Corbyn’s supporters accuse political opponents and right-wing media outlets of misrepresenting his views.
There have long been signs that British voters’ 2016 decision to leave the EU could spark a major overhaul of British politics. May’s Conservatives are in the throes of a civil war between the party’s pro-Brexit and pro-EU wings. Labor is also split.
Many Labor members oppose Brexit — which is due in less than six weeks, on March 29 — and want the party to fight to hold a new referendum that could keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc.
But Corbyn is reluctant to do anything that could be seen as defying voters’ decision to leave.
“I am furious that the leadership is complicit in facilitating Brexit, which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country,” said Mike Gapes, one of the departing lawmakers.