The shadow justice minister, Gloria De Piero, has quit the Labour frontbench and announced she will not be standing at the next general election, citing the party’s “lack of tolerance”.
The former BBC journalist, who has been the MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire for nine years, told local members on Friday she did not know if she could give them “the commitment you deserve for what could be a further eight years”.
De Piero, the former shadow minister for young people and voter registration, said a “lack of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Labour party frankly worries me”.
“We have to have respect for each other, even if we disagree, because we are all part of this party,” she added.
“This party is about a set of values not any individual and we would all do well to remember that. And while I’m at it, and it doesn’t happen in Ashfield, but when I hear people being called rightwing in the Labour party I find it utterly offensive.
“We are all leftwingers in this party – that is why we joined the Labour party,” she said.
She tweeted:
Tonight I thanked local Labour members for enabling me to serve the people of Ashfield for 9 yrs. I will continue to give the job 💯 but I won’t be the Labour candidate at the next election. Thank u for giving me the opportunity to serve. It’s been the greatest honour of my life.
— Gloria De Piero (@GloriaDePiero) July 19, 2019
Owen Smith, the Labour MP for Pontypridd tweeted:
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said her decision was “disappointing”.
He told the Press Association: “I read Gloria De Piero’s speech and it was lovely. Because what she said, actually, she demonstrated that she could work within a team despite different political views and within that team they worked really well together.
“As with lack of tolerance, Jeremy Corbyn appointed her to a frontbench position, I was in her constituency on her request to raise funds only a few months ago.
“We worked together as a team, disappointed she’s standing down, but we’re a broad church in the Labour party and we always will. If there’s any evidence of intolerance, we’ve said to our MPs and members, let us know and we will take action.”
