Labour breakway MPs hope to unveil first Tory defector as soon as TODAY
LABOUR’s breakaway MPs hope to unveil their first Tory defector “within days” as they fast-track plans to become a new political party.
Sources told The Sun yesterday that talks were taking place between Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie and a number of Tory backbenchers.
And there were growing rumours last night that either Heidi Allen or Sarah Wollaston could announce they are leaving the Tories to join the ‘Independent Group’ as early as today before Prime Minister’s Questions. Neither would comment yesterday.
Downing Street is understood to have axed a number of Ministerial speeches this week through fear of upsetting ‘Remainers’ who could quit the party to sit alongside the ‘Independents’. One insider said: “No.10 is on high alert.”
Chuka Umunna and six other Labour MPs stunned Westminster on Tuesday by leaving the Labour party in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Brexit and failure to stamp out anti-Semitism. They will sit as ‘Independents’.
But speaking yesterday Mr Umunna said the seven hoped to register as a new political party “by the end of the year”. A separate source said the seven had already been inundated with emails and donations.
The MPs who are staying on as ‘Independents’ took their seats alongside the Lib Dems in the Commons yesterday. The Sun revealed yesterday that senior Tories fear up to six Conservatives could walkout to join the new grouping.
But yesterday one of them, Antoinette Sandbach, ruled it out for now, saying the Tories were a “broad church”. Another linked with leaving, ex-Tory Minister Nick Boles said suggestions he could walk were “b*****ks”.
Amid the bitter fallout from Tuesday’s historic announcement, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell struck a conciliatory tone yesterday by admitting Labour had to “reach out” to stop others leaving.
But it emerged party chairman Ian Lavery had already written to members in each of the seven MP’s constituencies to start the process for selecting new Labour candidates in each patch. And ex-‘Militant’ Derek Hatton incensed moderate MPs by saying the seven “must resign” and fight by-elections on his first day back as a Labour Party member.
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Speaking in London yesterday Jeremy Corbyn said he “regretted” the decision by the seven to go. But he side-stepped questions about whether he would act on Deputy Leader Tom Watson’s demands and shake up his Shadow Cabinet team. Last night it emerged Mr Watson has been shut out of Labour’s Shadow Cabinet discussions on Brexit.
Mr Corbyn said: “I recognise that being leader of the party means you have got to take people with you, and I am determined to do that so that we can – when an election comes – present those policies to the public as a whole.”
Business Minister Richard Harrington - an ardent Europhile - yesterday said he “perfectly understands” why the Labour ‘Gang of Seven’ left. Challenged whether he could join her said his battle was inside the Conservative Party.
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