Labour MP Quits Over Party "Sleaze" And "Nepotism"
Rosie Duffield has quit as a Labour MP (Alamy)
3 min read
Labour MP Rosie Duffield has resigned the Labour whip with "immediate effect", accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of enacting “cruel and unnecessary” policies and "tarnishing" the party by accepting gifts worth thousands of pounds.
Duffield, who has been the MP for Canterbury since 2017, will continue to sit in Parliament as an independent MP.
"My reason for leaving now is the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to, however unpopular they are with the electorate and your own MPs," she wrote in her resignation letter to the prime minister, published in The Sunday Times.
"You repeat often that you will make the 'tough decisions' and that the country is 'all in this together'. But those decisions do not directly affect any one of us in Parliament.
"They are cruel and unnecessary, and affect hundreds of thousands of our poorest, most vulnerable constituents. This is not what I was elected to do. It is not even wise politics, and it certainly is not 'the politics of service'."
Accusing Starmer and his inner circle of "sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice", she wrote that she was "ashamed" of their actions, particularly on the decision to retain the two-child benefit cap and axe the winter fuel payment for all but the poorest pensioners.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of these people can grasp — this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister," Duffield wrote.
She accused Starmer of "various heavy-handed management tactics" without showing any "true or inspiring leadership", and said he had "never regularly engaged" with his own backbench MPs.
It is not the first time Duffield has spoken out against the Labour leadership, having come to blows with them over her stance on trans rights, writing in a tweet in 2020 that "only women have a cervix".
However, her resignation will still come as a blow to Labour, with the party having only been in government for a few months and wrapped up Labour conference in Liverpool a few days ago.
One Labour MP who has been critical of the government's decision on the winter fuel allowance told PoliticsHome: "Reading the letter online, the sentiment is reflective of what people are saying in our communities and the experience of this administration."
However, other Labour MPs were less sympathetic to Duffield.
"There’s huge relief that she’s finally gone," one minister said.
"She couldn’t handle not being the centre of attention. She was livid she didn’t get a front bench role and has always been selfish. It’s never been about the party, always about her."
Another Labour MP described Duffield as "fundamentally unserious".
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