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Up to three Conservative MPs are preparing to cross the floor to join the new Independent Group of MPs, it emerged today.

The bombshell could come as early as tomorrow morning, the day of Tory leader Theresa May’s weekly Prime Minister’s Questions appearance.

Chuka Umunna, one of the seven MPs who quit Labour to form the new centre-ground group yesterday, issued a rallying cry to Tories “demoralised by the Ukip-isation, if you like, of the Conservative Party”.

His remark echoed a tweet by Sarah Wollaston, the former GP and Conservative MP for Totnes, who said last night: “#BLUKIP has been busy taking over the Tory Party alongside the ERG.

"Soon there will be nothing left at all to appeal to moderate centre ground voters.” The term “Blukip” was coined by Nick Clegg originally to describe right-wingers who were closer to Ukip’s Nigel Farage than the centre ground.

Ms Wollaston is a leading Tory supporter of the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum and has faced threats of deselection locally for rebelling over Brexit.

Anna Soubry, the former Business Minister who co-chairs a cross-party pro-EU group with Mr Umunna, is also at the centre of speculation among colleagues that they might cross the floor.

Ms Soubry tweeted approvingly about the formation of the Independent Group, including retweeting a quote from Mr Umunna that: “You don’t join a political party to spend years fighting the people within it.” Neither Ms Soubry or Dr Wollaston responded to calls and texts requesting a comment this morning.

A third pro-EU Tory MP, Heidi Allen, is also named by Tory MPs as a potential defector because of her strong views on Brexit. Other Tories have made clear they will not leave their party, including Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General who said he was “Conservative to his fingertips” and Nicholas Boles, the former Justice Minister, who told the Standard: “Where I do see potential is for MPs of different parties working together, with a certain independence from the whips, to get things done.”

Interviewed on BBC radio, Mr Umunna said: “There are many other people who have misgivings about their parties. The point is, if we are to fix the broken politics, you can’t do that within the existing parties, which can’t be the change because they’ve become the problem.”

He said it was clear that MPs from other parties were “wrestling with their consciences on this issue” and said he hoped the group would evolve into a fully-fledged party by the end of the year.

“I would like to see us move as quickly as possible and certainly by the end of the year, but that’s my personal view.”

Labour’s chairman Ian Lavery announced that the party would start picking a new candidate to fight Mr Umunna in Streatham next week, in an email to members in Streatham.

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell adopted a less hostile and more pragmatic tone in an interview with Sky News, saying: “We need a mammoth, massive listening exercise and (to) address some of those criticisms that have been made.”

Responding to claims that 36 Labour MPs might follow the seven, he doubted the scale but acknowledged the call from deputy leader Tom Watson for dialogue. “We need to keep listening, bring people in, talk to them,” he said.

He added: “If it is about the style of leadership, we will address that.”

Mr McDonnell explicitly backed Mr Watson, who warned that other Labour MPs will defect if nothing changes.

“I think we are finding a way forward but it’s got to be on the basis of taking the advice of people like Tom Watson and the Parliamentary Labour Party and others,” said the shadow chancellor.

But former Militant firer brand Derek Hatton, readmitted to Labour 30 years being expelled, who branded the seven “pathetic”.

The MPs - Mr Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes and Gavin Shuker - blamed Mr Corbyn’s failure to tackle anti-semitism, a refusal to stop Brexit and concerns over security policy for their decision.

Mr Gapes, the Ilford South MP, said he had been inundated with support overnight.

“People have got in touch from all over the constituency and even from around the world to say they support what I have done,” he said.

The seven were “reaching out in an active way” to Tories and Labour MPs this morning, as they try to gain support.

Several meetings have been scheduled to try and convince more people to join them. Their inaugural meeting organised for this week is understood to have been pushed back beyond the weekend to give them time to rally support.

Mr Leslie, the former shadow chancellor, said: “We have had a phenomenal crowd funding response but we are talking about thousands of people who are making smaller donations already. We aren’t talking £2 or £5 not £50 and £100. Those are people who have really responded and are really key to what’s going on.”