Seven Labour MPs have quit the party and will sit as an independent group in the House of Commons.
The MPs who have left Labour are Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gape, Gavin Shuker and Anne Coffey.
Luciana Berger told a press conference to announce the split that she “cannot remain in a party that I have done to the sickening conclusion is institutionally antisemitic.
“We will sit in parliament as a new independent group of MPs. I have been embarrassed to remain in the Labour Party”
Chris Leslie said Labour has been “hijacked by the machine politics of the left”
Angela Smith says most people are like her family: “they do not want to be patronised by left wing intellectuals.
“I thought I would be on the Labour Party till then end of my life…Any criticism of the leadership is met with abuse and charges of treachery”
Mike Grapes said: “I have always considered myself Labour to my core…I joined the Labour Party in 1968. I am sickened the Labour Party is now a racist and antisemitic party…A Corbyn government would threaten our national security and international alliances.”
Chuka Umunna said: “we have taken the first step in leaving the old tribal politics behind.
“Politics is broken. It does not have to be this way. Let’s change it.”
Mr Corbyn responded to the split and said: “I am disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945.
“Labour won people over on a programme for the many not the few – redistributing wealth and power, taking vital resources into public ownership, investing in every region and nation, and tackling climate change.
“The Conservative government is bungling Brexit, while Labour has set out a unifying and credible alternative plan. When millions are facing the misery of Universal Credit, rising crime, homelessness and poverty, now more than ever is the time to bring people together to build a better future for us all.”
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