MP for Dudley North quits Labour Party

Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North, has quit Labour, saying he is “ashamed” of the party.

He told the Express & Star newspaper there was a “culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance” in Labour.

The ninth MP to quit Labour this week, Austin told the BBC the leadership had failed to tackle anti-Semitism and had turned the party into a “narrow sect”.

But he said he had no plans to join the new Independent Group of former Labour and Tory MPs.

Jeremy Corbyn said he “regretted” the MP’s decision while his deputy Tom Watson said it was a “serious blow”.

Austin, who has represented the West Midlands constituency since 2005, later told BBC West Midlands that he was “ashamed” of the party.

“I grew up listening to my dad, who was a refugee from the Holocaust, teaching me about the evils of hatred and prejudice,” he said.

“One of the main reasons I joined the Labour Party as a teenager here in Dudley more than 35 years ago was to fight racism and I could never have believed I would be leaving the Labour party because of racism too.”

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