Tag: Gavin Shuker

TIG is dead. Long live CUK! The Independent Group has registered as a political party, “Change UK – The Independent Group”, in anticipation of the European Parliament elections next month. Heidi Allen, the former Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, has been named as its interim leader until a full election at the party’s inaugural conference in September. Both the choice of name and leader – Allen was the unanimous choice of the party’s 11 MPs – reflect what TIG sees as its political raison d’etre: to act not as an adjunct to any of the existing parties but as a disruptive anti-system entity. Or, as Anna Soubry put it in the Commons this morning, “a new way of doing politics”. Senior sources within TIG argue that Allen, rather than the group’s spokesperson Chuka Umunna or its convenor Gavin Shuker, best embodies that mission. First elected in 2015 after a career in business, Allen’s, TIG MPs say, is a “non-political background”. To a large extent it is an attempt to provide an early and conclusive answer to the question that bedevilled the SDP in its early years: is the new party seeking to supplant the existing liberal-left players in the current system, or remake that system entirely? TIG believes it can only make electoral hay in the latter pose.

The Labour MP who was embroiled in a bitter row with local members over her support for a rally against antisemitism has said the tensions in the party have left her considering her future in parliament. Rosie Duffield, who won the Canterbury seat in 2017 for the first time in the party’s history, said the furore over a motion against her by her local party had been a distraction from her work. Speaking to the Guardian, Duffield said the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had privately been extremely supportive, but she hoped he would in future consider making a public intervention to support MPs facing censure from local party members. “It would be really nice if Jeremy could help each MP going through this with a personal statement, to make it clear that people – even those who do it without knowing it – don’t do it in his name,” she said. “I am not an anti-Corbyn MP just because I am standing up to antisemitism. “I didn’t get to write a decent speech, so I didn’t feel I could go to the debate, and it’s actually something I really care about and my constituents care about. Because it was a snap election, candidates such as Duffield were not selected via the usual process with local parties but applied directly to the NEC instead. It’s actually a bit embarrassing.” The MP said it was “a shame” Corbyn had not felt he could intervene directly in public. But some of his supporters, who think they are speaking for him, need to hear a clear message that they are absolutely not.” Duffield said she was concerned that some Labour members would be put off coming to meetings or canvassing because of some of the “vitriol” they had seen reported and on social media. But there is some concern that we could if we are not careful open the door to only having certain kinds of candidates.” She added: “We have to safeguard all-women shortlists and we need to make sure it is not an excuse to overthrow people whose opinion you don’t like, if they are a good MP.