MP Resignations - Question
MP Resignations - Question
I have been seeing Lab MPs resigning, and articles calling for more of them to do so, and calling "a vote for Labour a vote for genocide". Nothing I've read explains why resignation is the preferred strategy, and it's not very clear to me how it helps. What do they hope to achieve by resigning, and am I wrong in thinking that these resignations only play into the hands of Conservatives? Sorry, I'm very naive about UK politics generally and I don't get how this isn't pointlessly self destructive.
Acknowledged that there are appalling things happening, in Gaza and with the party leadership, but I'm interested in learning the logic for this specific response.
-
My understanding is that it comes from collective cabinet responsibility.
"Cabinet collective responsibility, also known as collective ministerial responsibility,[1] is a constitutional convention in parliamentary systems that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in the legislature." - Wikipedia.
While this doesn't apply to MPs or, I think, shadow cabinet positions, it has created a system where a strong form of protest to show your disagreement with the party is to resign your position or membership of the party.
Another way to look at it would be as someone saying 'these decisions and actions are so abhorrent to me that I can no longer be associated with the body taking them.'
-
Ah. So am I not far off the mark when I view these actions as a kind of principled self destruction, or is it likely to shift the party position? If Starmer is a pragmatist when it comes to the coming election, how will he respond to these resignations?
-