Ex-minister says ‘patience wearing thin’ with Labour Brexit stance

Labour MP Chris Leslie. Photo: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

A former Labour minister has hinted he could quit the party as his “patience is wearing pretty thin” with its Brexit policy.

It comes amid reports that “at least” six Labour MPs were preparing to resign the whip and form a new centre group.

Ex-shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said in a radio interview: “I have to be honest, my patience is wearing pretty thin with the Labour Party policy on Brexit.

“If I want to avoid another decade of austerity I can’t help but focus on what is happening on Brexit and what is the Labour Party’s policy on Brexit and that is why … I’ve got some serious worries about where the leadership are going.

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Mr Leslie claimed a policy commitment to support a second EU referendum had been “basically dropped”. Asked how close he is to leaving the party, he said: “Like a lot of people, party members who are resigning or thinking of giving up, do I understand that they are being driven to the edge? I do understand that.”

Mr Leslie’s comments came as an Ipsos Mori poll found satisfaction ratings in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have fallen to their lowest ever.

The survey of more than 1,000 people found that just 17 per cent were satisfied with how Mr Corbyn is doing his job as leader of the Opposition, down from 27 per cent in December, while 72 per cent are dissatisfied.

It is the lowest satisfaction recorded for a Labour leader since Michael Foot in 1982.