UK lawmaker Duffield quits Labour in protest at PM Starmer

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By David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) – British lawmaker Rosie Duffield quit the ruling Labour Party on Saturday in protest at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s approach to child poverty and his acceptance of tens of thousands of pounds of free clothing and hospitality from political donors.

In her resignation letter, a copy of which she gave to The Sunday Times newspaper, Duffield accused Starmer of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice,” adding: “I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”

Starmer, who was Britain’s top prosecutor before entering parliament, said on Sept. 20 he would stop accepting donations to pay for clothing for him and his wife.

Duffield said she would continue to represent the city of Canterbury in southeast England as an independent lawmaker. She has been a member of parliament since 2017 and voted against Starmer becoming leader in 2020.

Starmer led the Labour Party to a sweeping victory in a July 4 election, but opinion polls suggest his personal popularity has fallen sharply with voters since he entered office.

Duffield was among 53 Labour lawmakers who abstained in a vote this month on Starmer’s proposal to remove a 200 pound($267) annual fuel subsidy from 10 million pensioners.

She also criticised Starmer for not reversing a Conservative decision to end extra welfare payments for poor families with more than two children.

Duffield told The Sunday Times that her resignation was not driven by her past disagreements with Starmer over policy towards transgender issues and how these affected women.

($1 = 0.7478 pounds)