Owen Smith “considering” quitting Labour over Brexit

“I think it’s something that I and lots of other people are considering now”

Labour MP @OwenSmith_MP tells @EmmaBarnett he’s considering whether to quit the Labour party over their #Brexit stance.#EmmaBarnettShow pic.twitter.com/FaWpBv4n5h

— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) February 7, 2019

Owen Smith, who ran against Jeremy Corbyn as leader in 2016, has told the BBC he is “considering” quitting the Labour Party over its position on Brexit.

Following the news of Corbyn’s five demands for a Brexit deal, Smith described the question of whether he could “in all good conscience remain a member of the Labour Party” as a “good” one.

“I think it’s something that I and lots of other people are considering now,” the backbench Corbynsceptic MP said.

On whether the moment to leave Labour is now, Smith commented: “No, I don’t think it is quite yet. We – those of us who believe that Brexit is wrong in principle for our country and wrong in practice – still have an opportunity to try and influence within the Labour Party…”

Asked whether he is going to resign, the MP replied: “I haven’t come to that decision.”

Smith supports the idea of another EU referendum, which the Labour leadership has left open as an option but does not favour.