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Independent Group founder member Chuka Umunna today gives the clearest indication yet that its MPs plan to create a new Social Democratic Party.

Writing exclusively for the Sunday Mirror (see his full comments below), the Labour defector says The Independent Group (TIG) “will forge a new, different kind of politics for Britain’s future”.

That echoes Labour’s Gang of Four – Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams – announcing in 1981 that they would “break the mould of British politics” by forming the SDP.

But Streatham, South London, MP Mr Umunna says that while the SDP was “basically Labour 2.0”, the new group is not.

He adds: “It’s clear for all to see that politics is broken. We must not recreate the old parties with their tribalism and incompetence.”

(Image: PA)

At present TIG has eight former Labour MPs and three ex-Tories.

But, as the new group struggles towards becoming a fully-fledged party, it is already on track to replace the Scottish National Party as

Britain’s third largest force.

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to work with the new group and their 11 MPs would swell numbers to 22 in an expected merger.

Nine more Labour MPs are said to be on the verge of jumping ship and four more Tories are agonising over joining them. That would bring the rebels to 35 – the same number of MPs as the SNP .

The magic number is 36, so only one more defector would be needed.

Once TIG becomes a proper political party it could snaffle chairmanships of powerful select committees, get a regular slot to grill Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions and be eligible for £800,000 in state funding.

But its MPs would have to win at an election first – yet another reason for Mrs May to avoid being sucked into one.

Tory former Education Secretary Justine Greening and ex-Justice Minister Phillip Lee have threatened to quit the party if Mrs May does not take a No Deal Brexit off the negotiating table.

Yesterday Mrs May told Tory activists in Oxford she would not do that. But to try to stop more defections she promised not to take revenge on rebels, in contrast to Labour’s deselections threat. Mrs May said: “We are not a party of purges and retribution.”

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Jeremy Corbyn yesterday singled out his rebel Chris Leslie for criticism when he spoke in Tory defector Anna Soubry’s Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, seat. He said: “Walking away from our movement achieves nothing. Almost immediately after leaving, Leslie tells us that we should not be ending university fees or increasing the tax for the richest in the country.”

Ian Austin, who on Friday became the ninth MP to quit Labour, says he will not be joining the new group – for now.

His position is tricky because he represents the Leave seat Dudley North. And TIGs are all Remainers.

One senior MP claimed TIG had the private support of four Prime Ministers, Tony Blair , Gordon Brown, Sir John Major and David Cameron. There was no confirmation and Mr Cameron texted defectors Ms Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston, begging them not to join TIG.

TIG was announced on Monday because a key player, Luciana Berger, is due to give birth soon.

Peers were expected to join the group but so far only one, Tory former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann, has publicly said she might. There are also many of the 2,000 independent local councillors who might be persuaded to sign up.

'Westminster has forgotten how to represent modern Britain'

(Image: Getty Images)

By CHUKA UMUNNA, Streatham MP and founder member of The Independent Group

This week a group of MPs decided to come together around a straightforward proposition – the current political system isn’t working and the established parties are broken, so let’s start doing politics differently and start serving the public again.

The Independent Group comes from a diversity of backgrounds, including a former lecturer, social worker, solicitor, entrepreneur, a GP and a church leader.

We represent regions across the country, and in contrast to the heavily male-dominated Conservative and Labour Parties in Parliament, I’m proud that two thirds of our group is female.

Where the established parties are out of touch and remote from people’s everyday lives, we’re a group of ordinary people who are seeking to do something which Westminster has forgotten how to do – represent modern Britain.

The experience of the last few years has made it clear for all to see that politics is broken.

Poll after poll shows the public are crying out for politicians to roll up their sleeves and work together to solve the challenges we all face.

Voters are understandably sick and tired of the same old partisan, tribal way of doing things, which has let our country down for too long.

It’s no surprise that people have switched off from political debate. The established parties’ failure stems from the way they’ve become increasingly narrow and factional, increasingly refusing to engage with other points of view.

As a result, they’re incapable of showing the leadership we need and have failed to provide any sense of direction. What has this meant in practice? Where the parties used to represent a diversity of traditions, they’ve become dominated by extremes.

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The Tories have morphed into “Blukip” where Jacob Rees-Mogg’s ERG hold all the cards and the proud One Nation tradition has been lost.

With Labour, we’ve seen disgraceful antisemitism flourish in a climate where no criticism of the party leadership is tolerated.

And, in general, people feel they have to settle for voting for the least worst option or simply to make sure the other lot don’t get in. Many still vote for the established parties, not because they want to but because they feel they have to.

And whether you voted Leave or Remain in 2016, the Brexit process has shown up the failure of both Labour and the Tories, and has left no one happy with what’s being delivered in the voters’ name.

This week we have come together in the national interest, to say “enough is enough”. We have each put everything on the line to give something new a try. Believe me, it wasn’t an easy decision for any of us.

We don’t yet know the destination where the path we’ve taken will lead us. But what me and my Independent Group colleagues are absolutely clear about is that we cannot and must not re-create the old parties with their tribalism and incompetence.

As we embark on this new chapter, most importantly we want you to help us build a new movement, and we’re keen to hear from you.

Join us, and help us forge a new, different kind of politics for Britain’s future.

'Only Labour can bring country the changes it's crying out for'

By LUCY POWELL, Labour MP for Manchester Central

The decision by a small number of my former colleagues to break away from the Labour Party has done something surprising – it’s united the different Labour traditions.

John McDonnell and Peter Mandelson, and many others, have come together with the same message (for once) calling for unity, and arguing that this wrong decision will result in a long reign of Tory government.

They are absolutely right.

A split on the centre-left only benefits those on the right.

Whatever concerns these MPs have, you only have to look at history to see that the changes our country is crying out for only ever come about when Labour is in government.

From founding the NHS, setting up the Welfare State, introducing the Equal Pay Act and establishing the National Minimum Wage to delivering Sure Start. A strong and powerful Labour is the ONLY route to a fairer Britain.

(Image: PA)

But we do need to reflect, too, on the reasons why some MPs left.

I’m sorry my friend Luciana Berger was pushed out of our Party because of vile antisemitism and bullying.

The Party leadership must redouble its efforts to root out this evil racism perpetrated by a minority of members.

The Momentum wing must also down tools and bring an end to internal point-scoring, the threats of deselections, and a belief that only one viewpoint is valid. We must all respect and value different opinions, and take the bile out of politics, on and offline.

We must be a broad church.

This has been one of the worst weeks in the history of the Labour Party.

The challenge now is how we react to it. We can either come together stronger than ever, or fail the test we have been set, and be complicit in the longest reign of a destructive Tory government in a generation.