Labour MP Frank Field hits out at party members after losing no-confidence vote over Brexit stance

Party activists passed the motion after the MP voted with the government on a knife-edge vote

Veteran Labour MP Frank Field has accused his local party of trying to “misrepresent” his views on Brexit in a bid to oust him, after losing a no-confidence vote from constituency members.

Labour activists passed the motion on Friday night over the eurosceptic MP’s decision to vote with the government on a key piece of Brexit legislation, which helped Theresa May to narrowly avoid a humiliating defeat.

Mr Field, who has held his Birkenhead seat for nearly 40 years, said he acted on behalf of “millions of Labour voters – mainly in parts of the country that have long been neglected by the elites – who gave politicians a clear instruction to take the country out of the EU”.

It comes after fellow Labour Brexiteer Kate Hoey also lost a no-confidence vote, on Thursday, as party members in her south London seat accused her of “reneging” on her promise to oppose a hard Brexit.

Critics have called for the deselection of both MPs and their fellow rebels, John Mann and Graham Stringer, for helping Ms May to win a vote that could have destabilised her government.

Mr Field, whose constituency in Merseyside voted to leave the EU, said he had “always voted to free our country from the tightening stranglehold of the EU” on behalf of working-class Labour voters.

He said in a statement: “For most, if not all, of those votes I did so alongside Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

“It would have been a betrayal of the principles I have held for my entire political life, had I voted against the legislation two weeks ago.”

Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines

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Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines

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• 1/10The Sun, March 9 2016 

  This wholly false headline merited the first ruling by IPSO (the press regulator) under clause 1 of the revised Editor’s Code of Practice. Clause 1 makes specific reference to newspapers printing “headlines not supported by the text”

• 2/10Daily Mail, November 4 2016 

  In perhaps the most notorious front page of the past few years, the Mail derides the High Court judges who ruled that parliament must have a vote on whether to trigger article 50 and start the Brexit process

• 3/10Daily Express, November 4 2016 

  In the Express’ take on the same story, they manage to incorporate the Union Jack, allude to First World War propaganda, invoke memories of Churchill and, of course, state “Brexit means Brexit”

• 4/10The Sun, March 29 2017 

  The Sun marked the day on which Mrs May triggered article 50 by projecting a huge and terrible pun on to the Cliffs of Dover

• 5/10The Sun, April 4 2017 

  Referencing their notorious eurosceptic headline from 1990 (See: Up Yours Delors), the Sun stokes the flames of the brief Gibraltar dispute, a dispute in which Spain, the supposed aggressors, only joined to note that there was “no need for it”

• 6/10Daily Mail, April 19 2017 

  This headline followed Mrs May’s snap election announcement, which gave the Mail hope that dissenting opinions on Brexit would disappear

• 7/10Daily Mail, December 14 2017 

  In recent months, the Mail has often forgone catchy headlines in favour of rambling rants, this is an early example aimed at Tory Brexit rebels

• 8/10Daily Mail, January 31 2018 

  This headline (?) takes aim at the Lords over their repeated amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill

• 9/10The Sun, June 12 2018 

  On the day that the EU Withdrawal Bill is to be debated in the Commons, the Sun offers two choices to MPs, desperately including all conceivable imagery that might make Brits feel patriotic, which apparently includes the Loch Ness Monster

• 10/10Daily Express, June 12 2018 

  On the same day, the Express lets MPs know what the consequences of the vote may be

 

 

Mr Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions committee, said: “Some people have tried to misrepresent my vote as a means of propping up the Tories or getting in the way of an early general election.

“This is an absurd suggestion that is being used as an excuse by certain people in the Birkenhead Constituency Labour Party who are fixated on the idea of trying to get rid of me.

“They would have found some other excuse, had it not been this topic, as they’re already lining up their alternative candidate.”

Laura Parker, national coordinator of Momentum, had called for the deselection of all four rebels, saying: “There is no room for Labour MPs who side with the reactionary Tory establishment.”

The vote against him was sparked by a letter from the Bidston and St James branch secretary Brian Parsons.

Mr Parsons attacked the “actions and total disregard” of Mr Field in supporting the Conservatives, which he said could potentially damage support for Labour in any upcoming election.

He said: “For whatever reason, Mr Field is refusing to assist his parliamentary colleagues in removing one of the cruellest and most savage Tory administrations this country has produced, including the Thatcher government.”

The motions are not binding but will be noted by Labour bosses, and could result in both Mr Field and Ms Hoey having the whip removed – which would force them to sit as independent MPs.