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19 January 2022updated 31 Jan 2022 1:27pm

Christian Wakeford MP: Why I am quitting the Conservative Party and joining Labour

“Both Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves.”

By New Statesman

Dear Prime Minister,

Britain needs a government focused on tackling the cost of living crisis and providing a path out of the pandemic that protects living standards and defends the security of all. It needs a government that upholds the highest standards of integrity and probity in public life and sadly both you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves.

Being elected as MP for Bury South was the proudest day of my life. I care passionately about the area and will always be grateful to those who have supported me. Today, however, I am in no doubt that they will be better served by my joining a party that genuinely has their interests at heart.

I have wrestled with my conscience for many months, and you will know that I have made my policy misgivings clear on many occasions in private and sometimes in public. I can no longer support a government that has shown itself consistently out of touch with the hard working people of Bury South and the country as a whole.

Under Keir Starmer, the Labour Party is back firmly in the centre of British politics, in touch with working people, and ready to provide an alternative government that this country can be proud of, and not embarrassed by.

My decision is about much more than your leadership and the disgraceful way you have conducted yourself in recent weeks. However, I don’t believe all politicians are the same and I do believe in the power of politics to be a force for good. So does Keir Starmer. He has shown that integrity in the way he has lead his party on issues that matter to me, not least the vital challenge of combatting antisemitism.

I will always put the people of Bury South first and will continue to speak out for the changes the area needs. Changes that can only be delivered by a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer.

Yours,
Christian Wakeford MP
Bury South

This is a copy of Christian Wakeford MP’s resignation letter to the Prime Minister.

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