7 lawmakers quit UK Labour Party over Brexit, anti-Semitism
Seven lawmakers split from Britain's opposition Labour Party on Monday, saying that the party leadership's failures over Brexit, anti-Semitism and a culture of bullying in the party had left them no choice.
- World
- AP
- Published Date: 01:40 | 18 February 2019
- Modified Date: 01:41 | 18 February 2019
Seven British lawmakers say they are quitting the main opposition Labour Party over its approach to issues including Brexit and anti-Semitism.
Many Labour lawmakers are unhappy with the party's direction under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who took charge in 2015 with strong grass-roots backing.
They accuse him of mounting a weak opposition to the Conservative government's plans for leaving the European Union, and of failing to stamp out a vein of anti-Jewish prejudice in the party.
Luciana Berger, one of those who announced Monday she is leaving, said Labour has become "institutionally anti-Semitic."
The quitters are only a fraction of Labour's 256 lawmakers. But this is the biggest split in the party since four senior members quit in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party.
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