Now even Thomas Piketty has quit as an adviser to Jeremy Corbyn
Thomas Piketty, one the world's most famous left-wing economists and inequality campaigners, has left his position as an adviser to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Piketty, who shot to worldwide fame in 2013 with his highly-cited, less-often-read treatise on inequality, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century", was a member of Corbyn's economic advisory council, but has stepped down and attacked the Labour leader over his role in the EU referendum.
The French economist, who advocated a redistributive wealth tax, said he was "deeply concerned with the Brexit vote, and with the "weak campaign of Labour."
News of his departure, which occurred a few weeks ago, follows calls from another of Corbyn's closest and most loyal economic advisers, Richard Murphy, for Corbyn to step down, and the resignation of Danny Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC), from Corbyn's advisory team.
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Murphy, who campaigns against tax avoidance and has been described as the Labour leader's "economic guru", wrote in the Guardian earlier this week: "His leadership is in crisis. … I think that those demanding change are right to do so.
"Corbyn … is no longer the man to lead Labour," he added.
Another five members of the economic council have told the Labour List website they are "unhappy" with the role Corbyn played in the EU campaign, though fell short of resigning.
Diane Elson, Mariana Mazzucato, Anastasia Nesvetailova, Ann Pettifor and Simon Wren-Lewis said: "We have felt unhappy that the Labour leadership has not campaigned more strongly to avoid this outcome."
Yesterday evening, after more than 40 of his frontbench team resigned, Jeremy Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence among his MPs with more than 170 calling for him to step down. The Islington MP, who was a serial backbench rebel before unexpectedly winning the election to be leader last year, has vowed to stay on and has already put together a new cabinet of parliamentary loyalists.
A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn or the Labour Party was not immediately available for comment.