Anyone leaving Labour party with Chuka and his mates?

[longwayoff]

I am seriously worried. Politics across the West is an utter mess - thanks Putin, nice work - and I can't see that this will help. It will split the left vote and right-wing ideology will continue stomping its way to more power. We are asterisked all ways from hell to breakfast.

Utterly Desperate
I agree.

Because they're positioning themselves for a post-GE, post-Brexit (failing stopping it), post-Corbyn future.

And the Tory women's careers were pretty much over no matter what - very likely all to be deselected all of them, according to various bits of constituency info. So they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Plus, obviously, Labour anti-Semitism has nothing to do with them--another clue this is careerism, not principles.

You couldn't make it up

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/20/derek-hatton-suspended-from-labour-over-tweet

Oh dear. No matter what get’s said, how often it’s said or who speaks out about Labour’s stain of anti-Semitism there’s always some minimisation of it. 🤦‍♀️

@UtterlyDesperate

Completely disagree, Soubry may have eventually been deselected but as she has been a Tory stalwart for 40years, i doubt it.

To me, they are a group of MPs that are completely pee'd off with their respective parties for a variety of reasons - Brexit being the catalyst.

At the end of the day, if you believe Brexit is an economic disaster for the UK, you cannot remain in a party that wants it - so it doesn't really say much for Lammy, Creasy, Clarke, Major, Heseltine Grieve etc etc that they are prepared to put party or careers ahead of what they strongly believe is the national interest.

Utterly not sure why you are pushing this idea there could only be one reason for leaving your party. I think the reality is more nuanced than that, though there may well be slightly different straws that break the camel's back for each of them. At a high level, though, the common thread is that they are walking away from extremism.

Is it not possible that it is about more than one thing and not everyone in this group has exactly the same motives?
Obviously Brexit is the over arching theme but individuals in this grouping will have other additional concerns.
The moderate conservatives aren't going to leave their party because of anti semitisem in the Labour Party and likewise the moderate Labour grouping isn't going to leave their party because of the impact of the ERG in the Conservatives.
That doesn't mean that both groups haven't had enough of these respective issues in their parties and want to build a new moderate centre grouping. It sounds as principled as any other political idea.

I agree jasjas

It took me a long time to realise that for me the Labour Party was dead. A lot was Brexit but the unbearable misogyny was also a part of it, and the anti semitism and the bullying. I was able to hold a number of reasons in my head, I assume these mps can do that also.

Finally, a centrist party, free from left and right wing extremists. I will 100% back this and donate. Many, many people I’ve been speaking to for a long time have been saying the centre has been forgotten as both parties pander to their noisy extreme wings. We are sick of it.

Another whose signed up to support.

I'm currently politically homeless and would have no party I could vote for should a GE happen. I left Labour last year over anti-semitism, self I.D., influx of hardcore momentum activists in my local party and a profound dislike of Corbyn and his style of leadership.

As such I'm invested personally in seeing a centrist party getting off the ground and if a GE was called I would love to see someone affiliated to this group contesting my current Tory MP (the constituency voted remain quite strongly - so it would be interesting to see how they would fare against a centrist pro-remain candidate).

Dreisch V much agree with you. It's not just Jewish MPs who've suffered through anti-semitism. The Enfield MP (having a senior moment, can't remember her name) was Chair of Labour Friends of Israel and has been targeted endlessly on line, even featured in an Al Jazeera documentary alleging she's an Israeli agent.(LFoI is a parliamentary organisation that's been there for ever, the link between the UK LP and its sister party in Israel - which broke off relations with Corbyn last year.) She had a vote of no confidence passed against her by her constituency in the autumn. The usual Momentum takeover. Her supporters made some sort of challenge because the guy organising it wasn't a Labour member, but I don't know what came of it. Probably buried by Formby.

I think all back-bench MPs are pretty cut up about what Luciana has had to put up with. Anti-semitism is almost as important as Brexit in some ways because it's emblematic of how much the party has changed and the toxic relationship between Corbyn and his Office and backbenchers. There was a massive row at the weekly PLP meeting when Formby didn't turn up to be questioned on the figures - accuracy disputed by Margaret Hodge - and they sent Lavery instead with the usual empty platitudes.

We'll have to see what their policies will look like.

At the end of the day, if you believe Brexit is an economic disaster for the UK, you cannot remain in a party that wants it

It was decided by a referendum not by a party though. So the main parties have to abide by the democratic vote. They can start a party to rejoin the UK in the same way Farage started UKIP.
So far all I’ve heard from them is how wrong everyone else is in politics. They need to have a positive message about something otherwise it’s just the same old bollocks.

I could not give a toss
I do not believe a single word uttered by any politician...not a single word.
They are all just out for themselves, good job, good pension....just look caring and nod yer head.

I suspect most are shit scared of Brexit, simply because they will suddenly have to work...Dear God!!

I don't think being an MP is a particularly good job, the pay is pretty terrible compared to most senior bods in either public or private sector, job security for many of them isn't great, social media has led to a massive rise in personal abuse, one of them was shot dead many more on both sides are verbally abused and threatened.
They do have decent pensions I understand and a few other perks but it looks fairly grim to me.
Brexit is causing complete paralysis nothing else at the moment. Although I suspect civil servants will be working flat out.

Joan Ryan MP for Enfield N. Sorry for the time-lag.

An advisory referendum

So the main parties have to abide by the democratic vote.

No. They don't. Jesus, nearly three years on and people STILL spout bollocks.

If you want to say the main parties FEEL they SHOULD abide by the result of the advisory referendum, please do. That's accurate. But what you actually said isn't accurate at all.

I think the media are to blame for people thinking like mrcharlie above e.g. all politicians are liars. It’s not true. They are people. Some are good and want to do good work for the public. Some are in it to enrich themselves. The good ones work very hard.

@Unfinishedkitchen

You only have to see them on question time as they blather on regardless, yet don't actually state a god damn thing. They just lie through their teeth. Unscrupulous, with no morals or principles whatsoever.
Years ago before the public were so savvy, politicians could get away with such deeds, however thanks to social media we now know that most of what they speak is bullshit!

They are all just out for themselves, good job, good pension....just look caring and nod yer head

Jo Cox included?

ButteryMuffin

Pretty low that.
However, Jo Cox was murdered. I don't think its right that you try to use that tragedy to strengthen your views. That's pretty shocking and says a lot about you TBH

ShatnersWig Well obviously. But a government can’t actually decide one democratic vote can be ignored and another like a Scottish Independence or the GE should stand can they?
You say it was an” advisory” referendum but I definitely didn’t see that mentioned on the ballot paper nor did government in any way suggest it would be a test vote.