The MPs said they were leaving the party over leader Jeremy Corbyn's support for Brexit and his failure to stamp out anti-Semitism. "During a national crisis over Brexit, the breakaway of seven MPs with no policy programme is a dangerous distraction," wrote Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, who once supported the SDP. The BBC reported that two Conservative MPs could switch to the new group and other media reported more Labour MPs could split. Conservative MPs Sarah Wollaston, a pro-EU moderate whose name has been mentioned in the media as a potential defector, tweeted that Brexit hardliners were "taking over the Tory party." Media reports noted that fellow Conservative Anna Soubry removed references to the Conservative Party on her Twitter biography.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 19, 2019 15:22 UTC