Local MPs Distance Themselves From Independent Group
Ruth Cadbury and Rupa Huq look set to remain with the Labour Party
Ruth Cadbury - 'I will be staying in the party, as a Labour MP'
Two local MPs have given strong indications that they have no intention of joining the eight Labour MPs who have left the party to form The Independent Group.
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford & Isleworth said “I am deeply saddened that eight of my colleagues have decided to leave the Labour Party. I feel first it is important to say that I do not intend to leave the party. Having been elected as a Labour MP, I will continue to represent this constituency, and promote Labour values and policies.
"Since being elected in 2015, I have worked with and personally seen the valuable contribution all eight have made in Parliament. It’s clear that between them they had slightly different reasons for making the decision to leave now, with concern for the lack of coherent opposition to the Tory mishandling of Brexit being a common thread. But I also have to single out the appalling anti-Semitic attacks on Luciana over the last couple of years, and the lack of coherent support she, and other Jewish MPs, have had from the party."
She supported the comments made by Tom Watson in which he said the party should remain a broad church and said that once Brexit is finished with the fundamental differences between the Labour and Conservative parties will reassert themselves.
She added, "Like Tom. I see unwelcome changes in the party that have never been seen before. This must be a wake up call that we can not afford to ignore. We must and will address these issues, so as to reunite the party as it was founded 126 years ago - a family of diversity bound together with a single aim of delivering our shared democratic socialist values, through winning power in Parliament.”
Ms Cadbury has been a prominent supporter of a second referendum on leaving the EU and was sacked by Jeremy Corbyn from her position as a Shadow Housing Minister in 2017 for voting in favour of a Queen’s speech amendment calling for Britain to remain within the customs union and single market.
Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, signalled her intention not to join The Independent Group by launching a blistering attack on one of its members in a racism row over comments made by Angela Smith on the BBC Politics Live show. She said, ‘They claim their new Party is anti-racist and modern yet in the same breath describe black, Asian and minority ethnic people as having 'a funny tinge'”.
Dr Huq nominated Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader for the vote in first which he first gained the role but since then she has consistently voted in favour of parliamentary amendments more supportive of EU membership than party policy.
One member of the Labour party locally told us, “The MPs who left had various reasons for going but in many cases they were at odds with the party in their local constituencies. Rupa and Ruth don’t really face such problems as they have personally turned seats that were marginal into ones with a massive Labour majority. They did so while making it clear they weren’t totally on-board with the party’s Brexit policy and they clearly feel the best way to change it is from the inside. I doubt that means they aren’t bitterly disappointed by the departures.”
February 22, 2019