Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Will this latest split be fatal for the Labour Party?
As Labour MPs struggle to show a united front behind Jeremy Corbyn's candidacy for Prime Minister, it appears that beneath the surface more nefarious matters are being discussed.
The Telegraph reports that Jeremy Corbyn's announcement that he intends to stay on as leader, even if his party is slaughtered at the polls, has caused huge unrest amongst his Parliamentary Party.
The paper says that as many as 100 of the party's MPs are set to walk out and form their own breakaway group in an attempt to force him to quit:
Moderate Labour candidates are already in talks with potential donors about a new “Progressives” group forming in Parliament if Mr Corbyn stays on as leader after a Tory landslide.
One potential scenario is for the MPs to resign the Labour whip and become independents grouped together in the Commons under the Progressives banner.
They could then rejoin the Parliamentary Labour Party once Mr Corbyn had been replaced with a leader they supported.
Dan Jarvis, Yvette Cooper and Sir Keir Starmer could be asked to lead the group, although there is no suggestion they have been approached or been involved in the talks.
Whether Labour actually have 100 MPs to form a breakaway group after 8th June is a moot point. There also has to be a question mark as to whether this brave talk will actually lead to a walkout. However, the timing is not good for Corbyn as once more his future becomes the focal point rather than the policies he is seeking to promote.
The Telegraph reports that Jeremy Corbyn's announcement that he intends to stay on as leader, even if his party is slaughtered at the polls, has caused huge unrest amongst his Parliamentary Party.
The paper says that as many as 100 of the party's MPs are set to walk out and form their own breakaway group in an attempt to force him to quit:
Moderate Labour candidates are already in talks with potential donors about a new “Progressives” group forming in Parliament if Mr Corbyn stays on as leader after a Tory landslide.
One potential scenario is for the MPs to resign the Labour whip and become independents grouped together in the Commons under the Progressives banner.
They could then rejoin the Parliamentary Labour Party once Mr Corbyn had been replaced with a leader they supported.
Dan Jarvis, Yvette Cooper and Sir Keir Starmer could be asked to lead the group, although there is no suggestion they have been approached or been involved in the talks.
Whether Labour actually have 100 MPs to form a breakaway group after 8th June is a moot point. There also has to be a question mark as to whether this brave talk will actually lead to a walkout. However, the timing is not good for Corbyn as once more his future becomes the focal point rather than the policies he is seeking to promote.
