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General Election 2019: Voters should back Johnson - ex Labour MP | General Election 2019: Voters should back Johnson - ex Labour MP |
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Labour voters should support Boris Johnson in the general election, former Labour MP Ian Austin has said. | Labour voters should support Boris Johnson in the general election, former Labour MP Ian Austin has said. |
The former minister, who resigned from the party in February, said Jeremy Corbyn was "completely unfit to lead our country". | The former minister, who resigned from the party in February, said Jeremy Corbyn was "completely unfit to lead our country". |
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Austin said: "I can't believe it has come to this." | Speaking to the BBC, Mr Austin said: "I can't believe it has come to this." |
Asked about his comments, Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey said telling people to vote Conservative was "absurd". | Asked about his comments, Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey said telling people to vote Conservative was "absurd". |
She said Mr Austin had done "great work" as an MP but added that it wasn't "any secret" that he had differences with the Labour leader. | |
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak called Mr Austin's comments a "truly devastating indictment of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership". | Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak called Mr Austin's comments a "truly devastating indictment of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership". |
Speaking to the Express and Star, Mr Austin also announced he would be standing down as MP for Dudley North - a seat he held at the 2017 election with a majority of just 22. | |
He said: "I am so sorry that it has come to this, but as has always been the case, I have to do what I think is right," adding: "I must do everything I can to stop Jeremy Corbyn from getting into power." | |
The BBC's political correspondent Chris Mason says Mr Austin's comments were "astonishing". | |
"We should be clear he has had a long standing run-in with Mr Corbyn," he says. | "We should be clear he has had a long standing run-in with Mr Corbyn," he says. |
"We know that he doesn't like the Labour leader but still, on day two of a general campaign, for someone who has been Labour MP for much of his time in Westminster to say 'vote Conservative' is incredible." | "We know that he doesn't like the Labour leader but still, on day two of a general campaign, for someone who has been Labour MP for much of his time in Westminster to say 'vote Conservative' is incredible." |
Mr Austin became a Labour councillor in Dudley in his twenties, later working as a press officer for Gordon Brown. | Mr Austin became a Labour councillor in Dudley in his twenties, later working as a press officer for Gordon Brown. |
He was elected MP for Dudley North in 2005 and served in Mr Brown's government from 2008-2010. | He was elected MP for Dudley North in 2005 and served in Mr Brown's government from 2008-2010. |
Mr Austin quit the party earlier this year blaming Mr Corbyn for "creating a culture of extremism and intolerance" and accused the Labour leadership of failing to tackle anti-Semitism in the party. | |
His comments comes as Tom Watson announced he was stepping down from his role as deputy party leader and as an MP. | His comments comes as Tom Watson announced he was stepping down from his role as deputy party leader and as an MP. |
He said the decision was "personal, not political" and that he would continue to campaign for the party. | He said the decision was "personal, not political" and that he would continue to campaign for the party. |
But Mr Austin said: "If Tom thought that Jeremy Corbyn was fit to lead our country and fit to form a government, then he would have been in that Cabinet. Would he really be standing down?" | |
He said Mr Watson was "appalled" by "the scandal of anti-Semitism that has poisoned the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership". | |
On Sunday, shadow chancellor John Mc Donnell said he was "so saddened" by accusations of anti-Semitism and said he wanted to "reassure" the Jewish community that Labour was "doing everything we can to eradicate anti-Semitism in the party and to educate our own members". |