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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 resigned from the party in February, accusing leader Jeremy Corbyn of failing to tackle anti-Semitism. | |
Mr Austin, MP for Dudley North, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Corbyn was "completely unfit" to be PM. | |
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". |
The shadow business secretary 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 newspaper, 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." | |
He added: "I must do everything I can to stop Jeremy Corbyn from getting into power." | |
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason called Mr Austin's comments "astonishing". | |
"We should be clear he has had a long standing run-in with Mr Corbyn," he said. "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 to 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 came after Tom Watson announced he was stepping down as Labour's deputy 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". | 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". | 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". |