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MP Rosie Duffield resigns Labour whip over ‘hypocrisy and cruel policies’

28 Sep 2024 3 minute read
Labour MP Rosie Duffield. Photo UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned the Labour whip, accusing the Prime Minister of “hypocrisy” and pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies.

In a resignation letter, Ms Duffield attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test winter fuel payments and condemned his handling of the outcry over gifts given to him and other senior Labour figures.

She wrote: “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 those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour Prime Minister.”

Relations between Ms Duffield and the Labour leadership have long been strained, particularly on the issue of transgender rights.

The MP went on to criticise Sir Keir’s management of his party, saying he had “never regularly engaged” with backbench MPs and lacked “basic politics and political instincts”.

Sleaze

She added: “The sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale. I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”

Her letter said she intended to sit as an Independent MP “guided by my core Labour values”.

One Labour backbencher said they were glad to see the back of Ms Duffield, describing her as “poisonous” and adding: “Yes, they have a long-standing bunker mentality in the leader’s office and need better PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) engagement, but they’re at least doing something right if they never talk to her.”

First elected in 2017, Ms Duffield’s decision to quit the party follows the suspension of seven other Labour MPs who rebelled on the King’s Speech by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished – and brings the total number of Independent MPs to 14.

Amendments

Ms Duffield did not vote on either the proposed amendment to the King’s Speech or a recent Conservative motion calling for the restriction of the winter fuel payment to be halted.

In her resignation letter, she also criticised the Prime Minister for promoting people with “no proven political skills and no previous parliamentary experience” and said he had been “elevated immediately to a shadow cabinet position without following the usual path of honing your political skills on the backbenches”.

Sir Keir was made a shadow home office minister in 2015, two months after he was first elected as an MP, and in turn appointed a number of MPs elected in 2024 to junior ministerial positions.

One of those, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer, is the son of Sir Keir’s first shadow attorney general Lord Falconer, while Liam Conlon, son of Number 10 chief of staff Sue Gray, was made a parliamentary aid to Department for Transport.


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Adrian
Adrian
5 days ago

Possibly the last Labour MP with an ounce of credibilty. She’s been marginalised and persecuted by Starmer and his cabal of delusional clowns for years – all because she grasps the basics of human biology and Starmer doesn’t. She’s better off out of the rats’ nest, now their lying and grifting has come to the surface.

Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
5 days ago
Reply to  Adrian

‘Basics of biology’ 🙄 Talk about the basics of biology to a person born with a three letter chromosome, like XYX or XXY. Study that issue and then tell me about the so called ‘basics of biology.’

Adrian
Adrian
4 days ago
Reply to  Owain Morgan

I understand it very well Owain. There are two sexes, and that’s it: in mammals sex is fixed at the point of conception and will not change for the life of the organism. I’m sorry if, like Kier Starmer, you find this confusing.

John Ellis
John Ellis
5 days ago

I accept that there’s a prosaic truth in the mantra that electorally successful political parties inevitably have to ‘campaign in poetry but govern in prose’, and that to a degree doing that’s absolutely inevitable. But while Labour indeed did manage a degree of poetry, if a tad muted, in its pre-election campaigning, it’s currently governing in such uninspiring prose that it’s even lost an MP sufficiently enthusiastic and charismatic to have won the archetypically traditional Tory seat of Canterbury as a consequence of voter disillusion with the party that folk around there had supported for decades. It doesn’t look or… Read more »

Last edited 5 days ago by John Ellis
Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
5 days ago

This has been coming for a while. It’s just a pity she couldn’t have done it before the UK General Election, then her Constituents could have had a choice between her as an Independent candidate, Labour and others. I mean I doubt she’s going to resign and force a by-election.

On these issues I fully agree with her. On the issue of Transgendered persons I disagree with her.

Brychan
Brychan
5 days ago

Rosie Duffield DID NOT vote for maintaining the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners. So her claim to the moral high ground is somewhat hollow. She just didn’t turn up at Westminster to vote. Also, her criticism of the Starmer freebies is also a bit rich as she herself took a top notch golf weekend gift to St Andrews over 500 miles from her constituency. 

Bethan
Bethan
5 days ago

I can’t say I disagree with her on that. It’s just too much. They insult the people beyond tolerance. What else is there left to say? Westminster is just a sleazy den of lowlife, grabby psychos. I have signed petitions in support of the elderly, the chronically ill and the children he has targeted (big man) and I won’t be supporting labour under his rule.

Susan
Susan
5 days ago

The barnpots are already commenting on her resignation Nadia Whittome – ”No matter her views on her stated reasons for quitting, Rosie Duffield has made a political career out of dehumanising one of the most marginalised groups in society. But JRK has responded to her with – “Rosie Duffield was one of the few female Labour politicians with the guts to stand up for vulnerable women and girls, while self-satisfied numbskulls like you fought to give away their rights and spaces. TL;DR Keep her name out of your mouth”. I’m for Rosie, JKR and all women who are fighting to… Read more »

Charles Coombes
Charles Coombes
5 days ago

Solidarity!

Welsh Patriot
Welsh Patriot
5 days ago

I have to agree with Rosie, Labour spent the whole election campaign saying they would Govern differently?
I wonder did Lord Alli buy all Sir Kier’s clothes, including his underpants?

hdavies15
hdavies15
5 days ago
Reply to  Welsh Patriot

Awful glad I never sent any of my (old) pants to Keir if he’s already got a sackful from Alli. Perhaps Jenrick might upcycle them and wear them over his head !

Howie
Howie
5 days ago

I suspect Corbyns, The Real Labour Party, will have a few more sitting with them in coming months.

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