The Independent Group for Change is shutting down after just 10 months and failing to win a single seat at the general election.

Leader Anna Soubry said the political party's managers agreed unanimously to "begin the process" of closing it down.

In a letter to members, she claimed there was "clearly a need for massive change in British politics" but that after none of the party's MP managed to hold their seat in the poll last week the group was going to fold.

Image: Anna Soubry said she had 'no regrets' about leading the party

"A longer term realignment will have to take place in a different way," the now-former Broxtowe MP admitted.

"Our values and principles remain the same and they remain as essential as ever - but we need to be honest about what's happened.


"We have no regrets about standing up and speaking truth to power when the country needed it.

"It was always better to have fought and lost than never to have fought at all."

Ms Soubry added the party "needs to be realistic" so it was stopping all members' payment subscriptions, closing the office down and de-registering as a political party.

She said the group had made many achievements, including shining a light on Labour's antisemitism issue and calling out the "dangers" of a Tory no-deal and its drift "further to the nationalist right-wing".

Image: The party struggled with a branding problem when it changed its name twice

The Independent Group was set up in February 2019 by eight MPs who broke away from Labour over its handling of antisemitism and Brexit.

They were joined by three Tory MPs who defected away from the party then led by Theresa May.

It struggled with an identity re-brand when staffers were told they could not use "independent" in their name as a political party, so became "Change UK".

Then it decided to merge the two to settle on "The Independent Group for Change".

In May, when the European Parliament election went ahead after the Brexit delay, the party failed win any seats, only getting 3.4% of the vote.

Its fate was sealed when several MPs left the grouping, either to become Liberal Democrats or sit as independents.