40 Labour Members Defect Party Because Of Leader's Support For Bush

[kpete]

Labour members quit over party's Lebanon policy
By David Banks

Almost 40 Labour Party members in the constituency of Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, have defected to the Liberal Democrats because she "sided with George Bush" over the Middle East crisis.

The 37 defectors, made up of party members, ex-councillors and a ward chairman, are the highest-profile losses suffered by the party since the beginning of the Lebanon war.

The Lib Dems unveiled the defections at a Derby press conference, claiming a "very high proportion" of the disaffected members from the Derby South constituency were Muslims of Pakistani origin disillusioned with the Government's apparently pro-Israeli policy.

more at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2328694,00.html

[Greeby]

1. Misleading headline

These are local party workers, not MPs. If it had been 40 Labour MPs defecting to the Lib Dems, that would be a bombshell (no pun intended)

[malaise]

3. Yes indeed

Bliar would be resigning about now.

[MrModerate]

2. Maybe Tony doesn't need to bother . . .

Coming back from vacation?