Oh That Didn’t End Well: New kid on the block, Change UK loses Six MPs including leader Heidi Allen, Brexit chaos has thrown up so much bad judgment that you have to wonder how some people consider themselves to be credible in politics, Change UK has one last journey that is to fold as a political party

Dear All

One thing that Brexit did was smoke out some of the anti democratic forces who are signed up to the European agenda. What is laughable that is these people talk about protecting workers’ rights in an organisation which is anti worker, pro cheap labour.

What these people are really supporting is freedom of movement which erodes workers’s rights, wages, and conditions. If you think way back, the objections to the EU first came from the left, the unions, but they ended up keeping quiet.

When people split from the Labour Party and Conservative Party at the time, I thought what a waste of time, and doomed to failure. The ‘rebels’ from both camps formed the group known as TIG. The Independent Group which then changed its name, logo and pretty much everything else to become Change UK put themselves forward for elections. In the European Elections, the Change UK Party did so badly that it was scrapping by on 3% of the vote. In contrast the other new kid on the block, the Brexit Party went from 0 to 32% in the polls and won the election.

After the defeat and probably waking up to the fact that these people don’t know what they are doing in campaigning terms, six of Change UK's 11 MPs, including spokesman Chuka Umunna and interim leader Heidi Allen have quit after it failed to get a single MEP elected. The six who have left, now sit as independents, running down the clock to the next election where they will be replaced as MPs.

Or they could attempt to go back to their old parties, tail between their legs, but in the case of Chuka Umunna, I doubt that anyone will want him back in the Labour Party. Momentum has earmarked him for de-selection. Once liken to be the Black ‘Tony Blair, Chuka is like Blair heading for the political dustbin of history.

Now the Change UK Party has five five MPs and a new party leader, the former 

Conservative business minister and anti-Brexit campaigner Anna Soubry, who faces a rather  bleak future. I don’t see Change UK under her becoming a powerhouse party, because the anti Brexit market is so crowded out with others. Change UK is left with former Labour MPs Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie, Joan Ryan and Ann Coffey as the rank and file MPs.

A joint statement from the six leaving members said their priority was now "to provide collegiate leadership to bring people together in the national interest".

Isn’t that what all political parties claim to do?

Why, yes, it seems that the Status Quo party is doing business as usual, which probably explains why they are treading water.

The splitters added:

“We know the landscape will continue to shift within the political environment and have concluded that by returning to sit as independents, we will be best placed to work cross-party and respond flexibly. We wish our colleagues well as they continue to build Change UK."

Boak!

In a statement, Soubry said:

“I’m deeply disappointed that at such a crucial time in British politics our former colleagues have made this decision. Now is not the time to walk away, but instead to roll up our sleeves and stand up for the sensible mainstream centre ground which is unrepresented in British politics today. Going forward, the Change UK MPs are as determined to fix Britain’s broken politics as we were when we left our former parties.”

I am surprised that she is disappointed with these vain and selfish people bailed, but given they have form for doing so in the past, what did she expect. It is a bit like the woman who cheats on her husband then leaves; one thing her new partner knows is that he cannot trust her. Loyalty is a two way street, and when you know it is one way only well anything can happen. As I kid, I remember a song, ‘ten green bottles standing on the wall’, it seems that going from 11 to 5 is a hell of a lot of glass falling in a hurry.

Finally, I popped into the Pollok CLP meeting last night to catch up on Labour Party politics, some people spoke of how the Labour Party approach to Brexit was right in trying to bring the people together. They also spoke of how Jeremy Corbyn was right not to have attended the State Dinner for President Trump. Having listened carefully to the contributions, I found myself coming to the conclusion that the approach was entirely wrong. Wrong on Brexit, wrong on the strategy to bring people together, wrong on Jeremy Corbyn who did not attend the State Dinner. I suppose I could have said something but I didn’t, I think the Labour polling in Scotland says everything that needs to be said.

9.5% vote share in the European Election for the Labour Party!

Polled fifth in the vote in Scotland!

No MEPs!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University