LABOUR insiders are predicting many more of the party's MPs, disillusioned with the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, will stand down in the next 18 months to pursue alternative careers after Tristram Hunt announced he is to leave Westminster.
After seven years as an MP, the 42-year-old former Shadow Education Secretary is to become the next director of London’s prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum, sparking a by-election in his Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency.
Under normal circumstances, Mr Hunt’s 5,179 majority would be regarded as comfortable to defend for Labour but these are unusual political times.
Stoke has been described as Britain’s “Brexit capital”. The Staffordshire seat recorded one of the highest proportions of those who voted to Leave; 81,563 people as opposed to just 36,027, who voted to remain. In the 2015 General Election, Ukip came second just ahead of the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats, who came in fifth two years ago, might be regarded as having no chance in such a pro-Leave constituency but on Thursday it won a council by-election in Sunderland, which was another city that heavily backed Brexit. The seat was previously held by Labour.
Paul Oakden, Ukip’s chairman, made clear the party would be "fighting hard" to win the Stoke constituency but gave no indication about whether its leader, Paul Nuttall, would stand. A candidate will be announced next week.
"The resignation of Tristram Hunt highlights the brighter future that many in the Labour Party feel they have away from Jeremy Corbyn and his brand of politics," said Mr Oakden.
Nigel Farage, the party’s former leader, was blunter. "Tristram Hunt's resignation from Stoke will be followed by many others. Labour is doomed." Asked if he would throw his hat in the ring, the MEP replied: “Good God no. Why would I?”
Baroness Brinton, the Liberal Democrat President, claimed Mr Hunt's resignation was "a sign of how Labour are ripping themselves apart".
The Labour MP’s departure will be seen as another significant loss among the party’s moderates, who fear the Left’s grip on the party is now unbreakable.
One MP said: "Given the opportunity, scores of Labour MPs will follow the lead of Reed and Hunt. The whips know it and are braced for more departures."
A former Shadow Cabinet minister told politicshome.com: "Being a backbench MP with no prospect of power wasn't really what Tristram signed up for. Good luck to him and God help the rest of us."
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former communications chief, said Mr Hunt’s departure from Westminster would be a “big loss,” and tweeted: “So many MPs fear Labour going nowhere under Jeremy Corbyn."
Mr Hunt, who refused to serve on Mr Corbyn’s frontbench, is the second centrist Labour MP to quit the UK Parliament in a matter of weeks for a job outside politics.
Last month, Jamie Reed announced he was standing down as MP for Copeland in Cumbria to take up a post at the Sellafield nuclear plant. Labour’s majority there is just 2,564.
Mr Hunt is among leading Labour moderates whose seats are facing significant boundary changes, leaving him vulnerable to de-selection attempts by hardline supporters of Mr Corbyn.
A respected historian, he said serving in Parliament had been "both deeply rewarding and intensely frustrating" and that there were few jobs that would have tempted him away from Westminster but the V&A job was one of them.
In response, Mr Corbyn issued a two-line statement, saying: “I would like to thank Tristram Hunt for his service to the people of Stoke-on-Trent Central and to the Labour Party. I wish him well in his future role at the V&A."
Later, he denied he had "lost control" of the party and declared: “I'm not expecting any other MPs to resign. In most parliaments there are a number of by-elections, so if they come, they come.”
Mr Corbyn said he was confident Labour would retain the seat and that he was looking forward to the campaign.
Mr Hunt’s new role will have a financial silver lining. Last year, his predecessor, Martin Roth, earned a total salary package of up to £230,000; well above Mr Hunt's £75,000 parliamentary salary.
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