Alastair Campbell has announced that he no longer wishes to be a Labour Party member.
Campbell, the former No 10 director of communications under Tony Blair, warned that Jeremy Corbyn will lose the next election and destroy the party “as a political force capable of winning power”.
After was expelled from Labour for revealing that he voted Liberal Democrat in the European elections, Campbell had planned to challenge the expulsion.
But he has now written to Corbyn informing him: “With some sadness but absolute certainty, I have reached the conclusion that I no longer wish to stay in the party, even if I should be successful in my appeal or legal challenge.”
In his letter, published in the New European, the former spin doctor said the party has a strategy that looks “designed to lose”.
He warned that Corbyn needs to “step up now” to stand any chance of persuading voters to back him and Labour.
Addressing the leader directly, he writes: “The culture you have helped to create has made the party one that I feel no longer truly represents my values, or the hopes I have for Britain.”
He adds: “I fear the country may have already decided that it does not intend to make you prime minister.”
Although Labour has changed its policy to call for a second referendum on any deal and to avoid no deal, some in the party continue to push for an unequivocally pro-remain position.
Campbell argues that the policy shift this does not go far enough. “Without real change, there will be nothing left to fight for, and… your place in history will be as the leader who destroyed Labour as a serious political force capable of winning power,” he said.
He concludes the letter by stating: “I hope that one day I will rejoin a party that genuinely appeals to the many not the few, that can win again the kind of majority needed to deliver lasting change, and so improve the life chances of those who will be damaged by Brexit, and left behind by Johnson.”
Corbyn has yet to respond to the letter. However, he said at the weekend he was “raring to go” and ready for a general election.
