Labour's Gang Of Seven Makes Tory Government More Likely: Emily Thornberry

19 February 2019, 12:44

Emily Thornberry says she believes the seven Labour MPs who resigned yesterday have made a mistake and makes a Conservative government more likely.

Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna were among seven MPs who quit the party yesterday to set up the Independent Group, saying they had reached the end of their tether over anti-Semitism, Brexit and the leadership.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary was live on LBC, standing in for James O'Brien, spoke in passionate terms of how sad she was about the move, but insists they have made the wrong decision.

Emily said: "I regret that Luciana has left. I regret it profoundly, I really do.

"I think the bullying that she has gone through and the appalling anti-Semitism that she has faced is shocking and shameful.

"I think she's made the wrong decision though. I think that in the end, in the end what's important is that we get a different government and we can't do that without being united as a Labour Party.

"If they're going to set up a political party, the question has to be are they going to stand candidates against Labour people in Labour-Conservative marginals, because if they are then they're going to stop a Labour government.

"And they didn't used to be in favour of that.

"They used to be in favour of making sure we didn't get another Conservative government because they believed that it was in the interests of the country to have a government that would change things for the better. They believes that there was another way other than this Tory way."