Group formerly known as Change UK announces it is disbanding
Mike Gapes, Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Chris Lesley, Gavin Esler and Andrea Cooper at the launch of Change UK, The Independent Group's European election campaign. Photograph: Nicola Tree/Getty. - Credit: Getty Images
The Independent Group for Change, a political party founded by MPs who defected from Labour and the Conservatives, will be disbanded after failing to hold any seats in the general election.
The group tweeted: "We came together & took a stand when others wouldn't. It was right to shine a spotlight on Britain's broken politics. But having taken stock and with no voice now in parliament, we begin the process of winding up our party. Thanks to all who stood with us."
In a letter to its members, the party's leader, ex-Tory Anna Soubry, said: "Whilst there is clearly a need for massive change in British politics, now that we no longer have voices within parliament, a longer term realignment will have to take place in a different way.
"Honesty and realism are at the core of our values, and we therefore must recognise that the political uncertainty of recent months has now given way to a settled pattern in parliament for the next five years. So this is the right time for us to take stock."
Remaining members of the group before the election was ex-Labour MPs Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie, and ex-Tory MP Anna Soubry. They all lost their seats.
You may also want to watch:
Meanwhile former members Heidi Allen, Luciana Berger, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith, Chuka Umunna, and Sarah Wollaston either quit to become independents or joined the Lib Dems.
None of them remain in parliament after losing the election or choosing not to stand.
Most Read
- 1 Has something shifted in sado-populist Britain?
- 2 Boris Johnson: The sado-populist prime minister
- 3 Brexit stripped me of my Britishness
- 4 What IS the liberal response to the migrant crisis?
- 5 Cost of Brexit is already 38 times more than the money set aside for levelling up
- 6 What I learned by avoiding England and the Euros
- 7 Could southern discomfort sink a rebalancing agenda still in its infancy?
- 8 Priti Patel - the poster girl for our poisonous politics
- 9 The Tories have already lost the culture wars
- 10 Boris Johnson enjoys splendid isolation
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
