Change UK have split just four months after the 11 former Labour and Tory MPs formed a new party - and they've even elected another new leader.

It came on the back of dismal European election results for the party when it failed to pick up a single MEP and has since trailed as low as 1%.

The split sees six MPs sit as independents with just five staying as part of Change UK.

The rump of the party have elected ex-Tory Anna Soubry as their new leader.

Chris Leslie, Mike Gapes, Joan Ryan and Ann Coffey will remain with the party.

But Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Angela Smith and Luciana Berger have said they will return to "supporting each other as an independent grouping of MPs."

There was a suggestion the breakaway MPs could join the Liberal Democrats who soared into second place in the European poll as the leading Remain party while Change UK languished in eighth place on 3.4%.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Commenting on the split Ms Soubry MP 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.

“Challenging the established broken political parties was never going to be easy. We registered as a political party to stand in the European elections but it was never our sole purpose.

"It is vital we continue leading the fight against a damaging Brexit, pressing for a People’s Vote and being prepared to revoke Article 50 in the face of a no-deal Brexit."

While Heidi Allen, who was acting leader of Change UK said

"We are all immensely proud of Change UK candidates and supporters who stepped forward to join us in making the unequivocal case for Remain in the recent elections. We believe Change UK boosted the campaign and turnout.

"To all the newly elected MEPs who stood on a unambiguous manifesto to remain, we offer our congratulations and support as we continue fighting together for the UK to remain in the European Union.

"We are very grateful to everyone who has supported us over the past four months since we left our respective political parties.

"Heidi Allen, Luciana Berger, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith, Chuka Umunna and Sarah Wollaston have made the decision to leave Change UK, returning to supporting each other as an independent grouping of MPs.

"We believe that our priority right now must be to provide collegiate leadership to bring people together in the national interest.

"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.

Change UK has been beset by disagreements over strategy since its formation including a spat over a pro-Remain pact for the European elections.

Former Tory MP Anna Soubry publicly slammed interim leader Heidi Allen for suggesting voters tactically back the Liberal Democrats.

She said: “I think it is rather bizarre for an interim leader on the eve of poll to tell people essentially not to vote for their party.

“You do not stand candidates and then say to people ‘we are going through a complete farce please don’t vote for them.

“Let’s engage now in big grown-up politics.”

After the disastrous results Ms Allen hinted at a possible merger with the Lib Dems after the poll, saying: “This partisan thing completely passes me by when I look across Europe, they seem to do pretty well with coalitions.

“I would hope as a collective, let’s call us a collective, somewhere in the middle with other like-minded colleagues.”

She said: “I think we are sensible enough to know we can’t do it on our own.

“Do we all agree that the long goal is something centrist together? Then, yes, we are all on that same path.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader and leadership candidate, Jo Swinson, responded to the split by welcoming the MPs to join her party.

She said: “As the European and local election results showed, the old, two-party politics is fracturing. The Liberal Democrats are at the heart of the fight against nationalism and populism, and I want to lead this party to grow that movement.



“I have always believed that we should welcome to our party anyone who share our values. People who want to stop Brexit, who believe immigration is a good thing, and who are passionate that we need to tackle the climate emergency. “In the last few days we’ve seen thousands of people who share our vision join the Liberal Democrats, and there’s plenty of room for more.”

(Image: Getty Images)

But sources suggest there are no plans to do so at this point.

The group was formed when seven MPs broke away from the Labour citing concerns about the party's Brexit policy, the leadership and the handling of anti-Semitism.

(Image: PA)

The latter was a particular concern for Jewish MP Luciana Berger who had been subject by anti-Semitic abuse by people claiming to be Labour members and supporters.

Chuka Umunna, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith and Ann Coffey had all been critical of Jeremy Corbyn and the direction of the party.

They were quickly followed by Joan Ryan and three Tory MPs Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston who had all clashed with their party over Brexit.

They caused controversy early on when former Labour MP Angela Smith made comments about skin colour on a TV interview, saying: “It’s not just about being black or a funny tinge.”

Initially known as the Independent Group, called TIG by some, they finally decided on the name Change UK.

Show more

But they came under fire from campaign group and petition website change.org who said they would seek legal advice.

They stood a number of high profile candidates in the European elections including Rachel Johnson and former BBC journalist Gavin Esler but failed to gain the votes they needed to gain an MEP.