TEHRAN, Feb 18 -Seven members of Britain’s opposition Labour party leave its ranks, citing, what they call, the party’s refusal to effectively confront the Conservative government of Prime Minister Theresa May’s push to break the country away from the European Union and its “failure” to root out “anti-Semitism.”
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, and Mike Gapes announced their decision on Monday.
They said they will sit as part of a new "Independent Group of MPs" in the House of Commons, and alleged that "none of today’s political parties are fit to provide the leadership and direction needed by our country."
"This has been a very difficult, painful but necessary decision," Berger said at a press conference in London.
This is the biggest split in the party since four senior members quit in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party.
Umunna has been promoting calls for a second referendum after one in 2016, which saw 52 percent of voters back leaving the EU.
The vote has deeply divided the country’s main parties. The defectors say instead of standing up to Number 10 for its support for the departure and firmly backing the second vote, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has given it the chance to leave the bloc, while joining a permanent customs union with the EU.
Leslie claimed that evidence of Labour’s “betrayal” on Brexit was clear to see.
Berger also alleged that Labour had become "institutionally anti-Semitic."
Source: presstv