Sir, – The seven MPs who have quit the Labour party are painfully determined to emphasise their continued opposition to the social and economic inequality created by Theresa May’s government, “British Labour party on brink of collapse as MPs resign”, (irishtimes.com, February 18th)However, the last time a UK political party divided on the same scale was in 1981 with the creation of the SDP. In that case, the new centre-left party fundamentally split the anti-Thatcher vote and contributed to Labour’s disastrous performance in the 1983 general election. The Tories remained in power until 1997. Splintering the main opposition party is a strange way to combat Tory austerity policies. – Yours, etc,JOE McCARTHY,Dublin 7.

Source: The Irish Times February 19, 2019 00:45 UTC