The Labour splitters won’t redraw the political map, but they do raise awkward questions

After years of infighting, threats, and a couple of failed coups, seven Labour MPs have taken the difficult and courageous decision to quit the party, sitting in the Commons as a new “Independent Group”.

Their disillusionment with Labour has many sources, from a failure to confront antisemitism to the party’s muddled stance on Brexit, from its hard-left policy platform to the bullying and intimidation that the cult around Jeremy Corbyn has fostered.

A new splinter party is unlikely to have much success in a General Election. Britain’s electoral landscape is biased towards a two-party system and new entrants will face an uphill struggle.

But that does not detract from the significance of the decision taken by these seven defectors.

For a start, their criticism of the current state of Labour goes far beyond mere disagreement with its policy direction. One MP accused the leadership of bullying and intimidation, while another said “I am sickened that Labour is now perceived by many as a racist, antisemitic party”. Luciana Berger even said that she was “embarrassed and ashamed” to stay in Labour.

These charges cannot be swept under the carpet. Corbyn may claim that accusations of Labour’s antisemitic and toxic culture are politically motivated attacks by opponents and can be disregarded, but losing seven MPs, including former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, cannot be dismissed.

Looking to the future, their bold move may encourage more unhappy Labour MPs to defect. Even if they play it safe, it renews the pressure on Corbyn and his team, who can no longer take unconditional support for granted.

The party structure, organisational offices, and general membership may be fully signed up to the Corbyn cause, but yesterday’s events remind us all that a considerable number of MPs are not.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have been cheering on the deserters, but they should resist succumbing to too much schadenfreude. The Tory party prides itself on accommodating a spectrum of views and most Conservative MPs define themselves by love of party, but the Labour MPs who have just split from theirs were saying the same thing until very recently. The prospect of Tory defections cannot be ruled out.

Yesterday, this newspaper encouraged Labour moderates to abandon Corbyn. Now that some have done so, we await with interest the emergence of a distinctive and coherent policy platform.