'Betrayed' former MP quits Labour

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Alice Mahon, MP for Halifax between 1987 and 2005, said she also felt "absolutely scandalised" by the Damian McBride affair.

Mahon, 71, a left-winger who was a vocal critic of Tony Blair and the Iraq War, has now written to Halifax Constituency Labour Party tendering her resignation.

She had been a member for more than half a century.

In her letter, she said: "This has been a difficult decision to take as I feel I was almost born into the Labour Party.

"However, I can no longer be a member of a party that at the leadership level has betrayed many of the values and principles that inspired me as a teenager to join."

Ms Mahon, who regularly rebelled against New Labour policies during her time as an MP, said she was "shocked and absolutely scandalised" by the Government's smear scandal.

She said that recent developments had finally convinced her to quit the party.

Speaking to Sky News, she said: "I've reached the end of the road with the Labour Party. I've lost faith in the Government and the direction they are taking us in.

"I did hope, as did many party members, that we would get a change of direction if we got a new leadership. Unfortunately I could not have been more wrong."