The Labour former home secretary David Blunkett has said the resignation of veteran MP Frank Field means the party faces irrelevance unless the situation is used as a “catalyst for seismic change”.
Lord Blunkett insisted the veteran Birkenhead MP’s decision to quit the Labour whip called for a rethink of the “Corbyn project”.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Blunkett said: “Frank Field’s decision, and his concerns over both antisemitism and the behaviour of party members indicate a deeper malaise. His actions need to be seen as a catalyst for seismic change and a rethink of the so-called ‘Corbyn project’.
“The commitment to Labour as a ‘broad church’, which motivated some of those who nominated Jeremy, has been thrown back in their faces and demonstrated that the so-called ‘new style of politics’ is anything but. Quite simply, Labour has to put its own house in order as decisively and speedily as possible.
“What matters for the health of our democracy and the continuity of the existence of the Labour party, of which I have been a member for 55 years, are the actions taken and the quality of leadership from Jeremy Corbyn and his colleagues over the next seven days.
“Either Jeremy Corbyn can lead a party into gradual decline and irrelevance, or demonstrate that he can lead a party fit for government. The choice is his.”
Frank Field
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The veteran MP, who has resigned the Labour whip, was among those who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership in 2015, calling the other candidates ‘thin post-Blair gruel’ and saying the leftwinger would change the terms of the debate.
Field, 79, has been MP for Birkenhead since 1979. He served as a minister under Tony Blair but is best known for his role as chair of the work and pensions select committee, taking robust positions on food banks, benefit sanctions, the gig economy and migrant workers.
Most recently, his Euroscepticism has been in the spotlight, often voting against the party whip on Brexit, including recent votes where pro-Brexit Labour rebels saved Theresa May’s government from devastating defeats.
Field had been facing the possible threat of deselection, and recently narrowly lost a no-confidence vote in his…
