London: Seven British Labour MPs have quit their party and set up as a group of independents, saying politics in Britain is “broken” and criticising Labour policy on Brexit and its failure to tackle anti-Semitism among its membership.
The split was immediately compared to the ‘Gang of Four’ who left Labour in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party, splitting the left vote and resulting in Margaret Thatcher winning crushing parliamentary majorities at the next two elections.
But the new group said they were not forming a new political party, and rejected comparisons to the SDP, saying it was a different era and they would not be contesting byelections.
“Politics is broken, it doesn’t have to be this way, let’s change it,” said MP Chuka Umunna at the launch of The Independent Group, urging MPs from Labour and other parties to join them and support centrist policies that were “evidence-led” rather than ideological.
They will support a push for a new Brexit referendum, Umunna said, which was supported by Labour members but not its leadership.
Luciana Berger said resigning had been “very difficult, painful but necessary”.
She said she could not remain in a party that was “institutionally anti-Semitic” and had “a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation”.
Read the article by Nick Miller in The Sydney Morning Herald.