Exit over Brexit; Opposition MPs resign over party’s handling of Brexit, anti-Semitism

Luciana Berger announces her resignation along with six other Labour MPs during a press conference at County Hall in Westminster, London, on Monday.

Seven members affiliated to Britain’s opposition Labour party have resigned from their positions, citing what they described as institutional anti Semitism, racism and the party’s “betrayal” on Brexit.

Member of Parliament Luciana Berger announced the resignations, saying that she had become ashamed of what the party had become after it was, in her words, “hijacked by the machine politics of the hard left.”
The split reflects the mounting frustration over Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, along with the anti-Semitism crisis that has engulfed the party.
Berger was joined by Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Mike Gapes, who said that they would form their own independent group of MPs. Their defections are a stark demonstration of the fractiousness of British politics with just 39 days left to go before the UK is due to leave the EU, with no deal yet in place.
(L-R) Labour MP's Anne Coffey, Angela Smith, Chris Leslie, Mike Gapes, Luciana Berger, Gavin Shuker and Chuka Umunna announce their resignation from the Labour Party.
“It is not simply that our values are no longer welcome in the Labour Party; the values we hold mean that, in all conscience, we can have no confidence in the party’s collective leadership, competence or culture,” the group said in a statement.
The lawmakers also slammed Labour for failing to take a lead in “addressing the challenge of Brexit” and to provide a “coherent alternative to the Conservative’s approach.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party is also facing deep divisions over Brexit, including from hard-line Brexiteers some of whom advocate a departure without a deal.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum debate, Labour campaigned to remain in the European Union, but Corbyn, who himself has long been a skeptic of the EU, was criticized for doing little for the cause.
Image result for Member of Parliament Anne Coffey
The group of defections represent a growing call within the Labour party for a second referendum. Last week, Chris Leslie said he did not understand why Labour was not pursuing a so-called people’s vote, describing the party’s inaction as “heartbreaking.”
In a statement on Monday morning, Corbyn defended his handling of Brexit, saying he was “disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election.”
While Corbyn’s anti-austerity message connected with voters in the 2017 general election, when Labour’s share of the vote increased, the Labour leader’s shift to the left has also divided his own party. He’s been accused of failing to tackle growing anti-Semitism.
Reported anti-Semitic hate incidents in the United Kingdom hit a record high in 2018, with more than 100 recorded in every month of the year, according to the Community Security Tust (CST) a charity that fights anti-Semitism.
A sweeping CNN/ComRes anti-Semitism poll conducted last September revealed that anti-Semitic stereotypes were alive and well in Europe, while the memory of the Holocaust was starting to fade. More than a quarter of Europeans polled believed Jews had too much influence in business and finance. And nearly one in four said Jews had too much influence in conflict and wars across the world.

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