An eighth Labour MP has quit the Labour party saying it has become "infected" with anti-Jewish racism.
Joan Ryan, MP for Enfield North, announced she has left the party and will join the Independent Group (TIG) in the House of Commons.
Ms Ryan was a member of the party for four decades and held the since 2015, having previously represented the constituency from 1997–2010. She is chair of the Labour Friends of Israel group in the party.
After 4 decades, I have made the terribly difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party. It is the greatest honour of my life to represent the people of #EnfieldNorth. I will continue to represent and speak up for them as a member of the @TheIndGroup of MPs #ChangePolitics pic.twitter.com/BroRRoVSGk
— Joan Ryan MP (@joanryanEnfield) February 19, 2019
Meanwhile, Ms Ryan's colleague Ian Austin indicated he was considering whether to join TIG.
"People, me included, are going to be thinking long and hard about the position we're in now," said the Dudley North MP.
READ MORE: Cracks appear in Scottish Labour as MPs quit
"It's a big decision and I'm listening to local people. I don't shy away from difficult decisions.
"I'll think about this very carefully, I'll make my decision, and I'll be accountable for it and explain it to local people, just as I always have."
Former shadow cabinet ministers Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie revealed that they had resigned the whip, alongside Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Luciana Berger and Gavin Shuker to form the new group on Monday.
READ MORE: Who are The Independence Group?
Ms Ryan's announcement came as Labour launched a consultation on changes to allow voters to force MPs to seek re-election if they swap parties.
Members of the new group have indicated they will resist demands from Labour bigwigs, including John McDonnell, to step down and seek a fresh mandate from voters in a by-election.
READ MORE: Who are The Independence Group? Former Labour MPs form breakaway party
Ms Ryan made clear she is hoping for further defections.
In a letter to constituents, she said she hoped her actions would act as a "wake-up call" and "others will join us".
Ms Ryan said that under Mr Corbyn, Labour had developed a "cult around the leader", driven by an " all-consuming narrative founded on rage, betrayal and the hunt for heretics".
The MP is a veteran politician
On the issue of anti-Semitism, she said: "I have been appalled and angered by the Labour leadership's dereliction of duty in the face of this evil."
And she added: "Jeremy Corbyn has enabled and allowed a toxic culture to develop in too many parts of the Labour Party.
"And I can't be a part of it any longer. Which is why, with a heavy heart, I have left it."
READ MORE: Labour harbours culture of “bullying, bigotry and intimidation,” claims MP
With a poll taken on the day after the Independent Group's launch putting the breakaway MPs on 10 per cent support to Labour's 26 per cent nationally, Mr Corbyn's party would be hopeful of seizing back most if not all of the seats in by-election contests.
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