Jeremy Corbyn warned of more Labour defections as MPs ‘think hard’ about future February 19, 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been warned that more of his MPs will jump ship unless he listens to their concerns over Brexit and anti-semitism. Ian Austin, Ian Murray and Tom Watson were among the MPs sounding the alarm bells today following the decision of seven Labour MPs to quite the party to form a [...]
DEBATE: Have the Labour splitters helped the Conservative party? February 19, 2019 Have the Labour splitters helped the Conservative party? Lauren McEvatt, managing director at Morpeth Consulting, says YES. After the next election, the UK government will either be run by the Labour party or the Tory party. That’s the reality of the electoral system. The seven Labour splitters have denounced the modern Labour party as bullies, [...]
Want a more future-focused government? Climate action is just the start February 19, 2019 The reaction was predictable. Last week’s Climate Strike by schoolchildren was met with an inane debate about whether or not the pupils were right to “play truant”. This dialogue of the deaf was a missed opportunity. Politicians should take seriously the protesters’ demand that they “recognise that young people have the biggest stake in our [...]
Facebook has gambled away the right to regulate its own bad behaviour February 19, 2019 All credit must go to Damian Collins MP and his colleagues at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee. Their report on fake news, published yesterday, does not pull its punches. Even a cursory read of the text reveals the extent to which Facebook has been operating irresponsibly. As the report makes clear, [...]
A real Labour split won’t guarantee a surge in sterling February 19, 2019 Investors who are predicting a sterling rally if there if a full-blown split in the UK’s opposition party are likely to be sorely mistaken. The Labour party has leaned increasingly to the left since Jeremy Corbyn took the reins in 2015. Many currency experts have warned about his policies, saying that they fear a Labour [...]
The Labour splitters won’t redraw the political map, but they do raise awkward questions February 18, 2019 After years of infighting, threats, and a couple of failed coups, seven Labour MPs have taken the difficult and courageous decision to quit the party, sitting in the Commons as a new “Independent Group”. Their disillusionment with Labour has many sources, from a failure to confront antisemitism to the party’s muddled stance on Brexit, from [...]
Jewish Labour MP breaks down in tears as she urges party to change February 18, 2019 A Jewish Labour MP broke down in tears as she begged her party leadership to do more to tackle anti-semitism, Ruth Smeeth made the emotional plea at a meeting of Labour MPs held just hours after seven of her colleagues quit the party, dubbing it institutionally anti-semitic and intolerant. The Stoke North MP challenged Labour [...]
Labour’s Tom Watson warns more MPs will quit unless the party changes February 18, 2019 Labour’s deputy leader has warned more MPs will quit the party if it does not tackle anti-semitism and broaden its appeal. Speaking after seven MPs announced they had resigned from Labour, Tom Watson delivered a sobering assessment of the civil war engulfing the party as he called for “kinder and gentler” politics from Jeremy Corbyn’s [...]
Gang of Seven ex-Labour MPs told to have the courage of their convictions and trigger by-elections February 18, 2019 MPs who have quit the Labour party to form a new independent alliance are facing growing pressure to trigger by-elections. Seven MPs – Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Ann Coffey, Gavin Shuker, Mike Gapes and Chuka Umunna – announced on Monday morning they had resigned from Labour in protest at the party’s approach to [...]
Labour pains: Seven MPs quit Corbyn’s party to launch The Independent Group February 18, 2019 Seven Labour MPs have resigned from the party and will now sit in parliament as an independent group in the wake of disaffection with the leadership's stance on Brexit and anti-semitism. The MPs, calling themselves The Independent Group, are Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna, Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey and Angela Smith. Berger, [...]