Ian Austin has become the ninth Labour MP this week to quit the party, saying he is “ashamed” of its actions under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.
The Dudley North MP broke the news in an interview with the Express and Star, telling the local newspaper that leaving the party after 35 years was “the hardest decision I have ever had to take”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The hard truth is that the party is tougher on the people complaining about anti-Semitism than it is on the anti-Semites,” he added.
Austin was placed under investigation by Labour leaders last year over alleged abusive behaviour, “after expressing anger about the party’s handling of the anti-Semitism row”, The Guardian reports.
In today’s newspaper interview, he says that Labour is “broken” and that “good MPs and decent people” have been pushed away by “a culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance”.
A Labour spokesperson expressed the party’s regret about Austin’s decision, but called on him to step down and contest his seat in a by-election. “The democratic thing is to resign his seat and let the people of Dudley decide who should represent them,” the spokesperson said.
The 53-year-old MP will now sit as an independent in the House of Commons. However, he said that he currently has no plans to join the Independent Group (TIG), formed earlier this week by seven breakaway Labour MPs.
Nonetheless, the group’s Chuka Umunna is among those who have applauded Austin’s decision.
The addition of Austin would bring to 12 the total strength of the splinter group - jokingly dubbed the Tiggers - with nine former Labour MPs and three rebel Tories.
His reluctance to team up with them is “pretty telling”, says The Spectator’s Stephen Daisley.
The West Midlands “voted 59.3% for Brexit, the highest level of any region in England”, and the fact that Austin hasn’t signed up to the breakaway group “underscores the perception that it is Continuity Remain in all but name”, Daisley argues.
“If the Tiggers are to survive in even the medium term, they need to have a vision for post-Brexit Britain,” he concludes.
-
Who were the ‘weekend snipers’ of Sarajevo?Under the Radar Italian authorities launch investigation into allegations far-right gun enthusiasts paid to travel to Bosnian capital and shoot civilians ‘for fun’ during the four-year siege
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
-
Glinda vs. Elphaba, Jennifer Lawrence vs. postpartum depression and wilderness vs. progress in November moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Die My Love’ and ‘Train Dreams’
-
The GOP: Will it welcome antisemites?Feature That Carlson would grant Fuentes access to his massive audience is proof that his hate ‘is entering the MAGA mainstream’
-
‘National dynamics will likely be the tipping point’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will the public buy Rachel Reeves’s tax rises?Today’s Big Question The Chancellor refused to rule out tax increases in her televised address, and is set to reverse pledges made in the election manifesto
-
Nick Fuentes’ Groyper antisemitism is splitting the rightTalking Points Interview with Tucker Carlson draws conservative backlash
-
Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
-
The Chinese threat: No. 10’s evidence leads to more questionsTalking Point Keir Starmer is under pressure after collapsed spying trial
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rightsThe Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
