MPs (such as Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna) who change allegiance to another political party during their term should face a recall petition if they do not stand in a by-election.
It’s an act of delusion if MPs believe that constituents voted for them because of their sparkling personality.
Most people will vote for their preferred political party regardless of who represents that party.
They should listen to their constituents and test their popularity by standing in a by-election.
Ex-Labour MP Luciana Berger switches to Lib Dems
Luciana Berger was the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, where she had a majority of nearly 30,000. The constituency is one of the safest Labour seats in the country.
She quit the Labour Party in February 2019 to found The Independent Group (later called Change UK), a party she subsequently abandoned to sit as an independent MP.
Labour’s constituency chairman in Wavertree, Nina Houghton, accused Berger of lacking the guts to resign and hold a by-election.
Now, she’s just pledged her allegiance to the Liberal Democrats.
What did Luciana Berger say about the Lib Dems before her defection?
In 2012, Luciana Berger wrote that the Liberal Democrats could not be trusted.
However, she’s now joined them!
So, that makes it a total of three political parties so far this year for her.
She should stop insulting her voters and call a by-election.
Ex-Labour MP Chuka Umunna switches to Lib Dems
Chuka Umunna was the Labour MP for Streatham, where he had a majority of over 26,000. The constituency is one of the safest Labour seats in the country.
He quit the Labour Party in February 2019 to found The Independent Group (later called Change UK), a party he subsequently abandoned to sit as an independent MP.
Many constituents in Streatham accused Umunna of lacking the guts to resign and hold a by-election.
Now, he’s just pledged his allegiance to the Liberal Democrats.
What did Chuka Unumma say about the Lib Dems before his defection?
In 2017, Chuka Unumma wrote that he “could never ever countenance suggesting voters support Liberal Democrat”.
However, he’s now joined them!
So, that makes it a total of three political parties so far this year for him.
He should stop insulting his voters and call a by-election.
Constituency anger
Constituents are understandably angry when their Member of Parliament switches to another political party.
Most people vote for their preferred political party regardless of who represents that party.
The voters of Liverpool Wavertree and Streatham did not vote for the Liberal Democrats to be the winning political party in their constituencies!
Therefore, Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna should do the decent thing and trigger a by-election as soon as possible.
If it’s true that people vote for the person and not the party, then they will be reelected. So, what’s the problem?
Let the constituents in Liverpool Wavertree and Streatham have their ‘People’s Vote’ to decide the fate of Berger and Umunna.
Comment
Any MP who switches to another political party and refuses to stand in a by-election should face a recall petition.
The Recall of MPs Act 2015 introduced a process by which an MP can lose their seat in Parliament if there’s a successful petition to recall them.
If at least 10% of the electorate in a constituency signs the recall petition, the Member of Parliament will lose their seat, and a by-election will be triggered.
The recalled MP can stand as a candidate at the by-election.
However, my proposal needs an amendment to the Recall of MPs Act 2015 but will MPs have the courage to do it?
