In protest against the course of british labor leader jeremy corbyn, seven prominent members resigned from the party on monday.
They criticize above all the brexit course and the handling of anti-semitic tendencies in the coarse opposition party. The deputies now formed an "independent group" in parliament and called on other politicians to join them. The split is seen as a symptom of a wider crisis in the british party system.
In a reaction, corbyn expressed "disappointment" at the resignation. "The conservative government is bungling the brexit while labor has presented a credible and unifying plan," the opposition leader said, according to a news release.
The resignation of the charismatic member of parliament, chuka umunna, hit the british social democrats particularly hard. He is considered a young star in his party and leads a group calling for a second brexit referendum. "We got rid of the old-fashioned politics of this country and created an alternative," umunna said at a press conference in london.
In addition to umunna, the seven deputies include luciana berger, chris leslie, angela smith, gavin shuker, mike gapes and ann coffey. According to the british news agency PA, they are overwhelmingly in favor of a second brexit referendum. It was unclear at first whether the deputies who had left wanted to found a party in the long term. The chances of success are considered modest.
The electoral system in great britain, which only knows the direct mandate, favors the two coarse parties. Smaller parties find it extremely difficult to win seats in parliament. But both major parties are finding it increasingly difficult to win a clear majority in government.
In addition, both labor and the tories have moved from the political center to the respective extremes. Among the conservatives, it’s the brexit hardliners who are now setting the tone. In labor, the left-wing fringe is now in control. Many moderate deputies in both parties are dissatisfied with it.
The crisis is particularly evident in the dispute over brexit. Parliament is unable to agree on a course of action. The danger of a disorderly exit from the EU on 29 june. Marz rises.
It has long been feared that labor could break apart. Opinions on corbyn, who is aiming for a new election, vary widely. Many accuse the old leftist of not taking a clear position for too long in the dispute over leaving the EU. He is accused of lack of enthusiasm for the EU. He has many supporters among young voters, who he has attracted to the party in droves.
Corbyn recently promised prime minister theresa may his party’s support if she accepted a customs union and a link to the eu single market on brexit. May rejected this outright. Great britain wants to leave the european union in just under six weeks – on 29. Marz – left.
In addition, accusations of anti-semitism have been leveled against corbyn and his party for years. Last summer, he publicly admitted in a video that disciplinary proceedings against anti-semitic party members had been pursued too slowly and timidly. Critics also accuse the 69-year-old of unilateral support for the palastinians in the middle east conflict.
Michael georg link, the european policy spokesman of the FDP parliamentary group in the bundestag, sees the party resignations at labor as "a receipt for jeremy corbyn’s selfish brexit policy, which subordinates everything else to his personal ambitions.". However, he hopes that this will provide a new impetus for the deadlocked debate on the brexit.
