Seema Malhotra: Why I resigned – and why Jeremy should step down as leader

This week I made what was most difficult decision to resign from the Shadow Cabinet. I did so because I believe we need a new leader to take us forward in the complex aftermath of the referendum, provide the strong leadership we need to be an effective opposition and to rebuild confidence in Labour amongst voters who have left us.

Britain is a divided country and Labour is a divided party. And those divisions are getting worse. I believe particularly over the last few days since the EU referendum result that this has gone beyond the more obvious differences in policy positions.

This week Jeremy faces a vote of no confidence in his leadership. It has become clear that this is a vote he will lose. I do not believe that this is something that he or the Party should go through. I believe that difficult though it is, he should now step aside and help the Party through this difficult time. He can do so and still play a big role in the Party. Leadership comes in many different forms.

Members in my constituency and others across the country have contacted me to say they believe Jeremy has taken us as far as he can, and that we need a fresh start.

Time is no longer on our side. In less than a year we are likely to face a General Election. Recent polling suggests we are set to lose many more seats as voters decide they cannot see Jeremy as Prime Minister. A friend who lives in a marginal seat texted me to say “unfortunately in my opinion he didn’t do enough during this whole process. Labour would lose a General Election under his leadership, whether your Party or individuals agree or not”.

Jeremy is a good man. Someone I worked with previously on the Justice Select Committee. In the leadership elections he showed that the Party had to change for us to connect more with voters and with the country. Implementing change can be a harder task and requires a different type of skill.

Many also believe that Labour was not strong enough voice in the Referendum debate and that our leader should have been more prominent. We have to acknowledge that.

The Labour Party is bigger than any one individual. My decision is about the future of the Party and how we best focus on achieving our purpose.  It is why with great sadness, I believe we now need to move forward under a new leader to rebuild confidence in Labour and start to look like a Government in waiting.

Seema Malhotra is Labour and Co-op Member of Parliament for Feltham & Heston