Labour Party in turmoil after 7 MPs quit Corbyn

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February 19, 2019

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Labour Party in turmoil after 7 MPs quit Corbyn

Source: AP | 00:00 UTC+8 February 19, 2019 |

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Seven British lawmakers quit the main opposition Labour Party yesterday over its approach to issues including Brexit and anti-Semitism — the biggest shake-up in years for one of Britain’s major political parties.

The announcement ripped open a long-simmering rift between socialists and centrists in the party, which sees itself as the representative of Britain’s working class.

It’s also the latest fallout from Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, which has split both of the country’s two main parties — Conservatives and Labour — into pro-Brexit and pro-EU camps.

Many Labour lawmakers have been unhappy with the party’s direction under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who took charge in 2015 with strong grassroots backing. They accuse Corbyn of mounting a weak opposition to Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans for leaving the EU, and of failing to stamp out a vein of anti-Semitism in the party.

The splitters — who have between nine and 27 years’ experience in Parliament and represent constituencies across England — make up a small fraction of Labour’s 256 lawmakers, or of the 650 total members of Parliament. But this is the biggest split in the Labour Party since four senior members quit in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party.

Luciana Berger, one of those who quit yesterday, said Labour had become “institutionally anti-Semitic.”

“I am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation,” she said at a news conference alongside six colleagues.

Labour leaders have admitted that Berger, who is Jewish, has been bullied by some members of her local party in northwest England.

Labour has been riven by allegations that the party has become hostile to Jews under Corbyn, a longtime supporter of the Palestinians.

Corbyn’s supporters accuse political opponents and right-wing media of misrepresenting his views.

There have long been signs that British voters’ 2016 decision to leave the EU could spark a major overhaul of British politics. May’s Conservatives are in the throes of a civil war between the party’s pro-Brexit and pro-EU wings.

Many Labour members oppose Brexit — which is due in less than six weeks, on March 29 — and want the party to fight to hold a new referendum that could keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc.

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Labour Party in turmoil after 7 MPs quit Corbyn

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