7 MPs split from Labour Party over Brexit vote

London: A group of MPs from Britain's opposition Labour Party broke away on Monday in protest at leader Jeremy Corbyn's support for Brexit and his failure to stamp out anti-Semitism.

The seven MPs included Chuka Umunna, who has led a campaign for a second referendum that could stop Brexit and was once seen as a potential leader of the centre-left party. Umunna called for a centrist “alternative” in British politics as the rebel MPs complained about the far-left turn the party had taken under veteran socialist Corbyn.

“The bottom line is this -- politics is broken, it doesn't have to be this way, let's change it,” Umunna said at a hastily-arranged press conference in London. The seven MPs will form a breakaway independent group in parliament, undermining Corbyn as he attempts to steer the party through the highly divisive issue of Brexit. Many Labour voters chose to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum -- but a majority of Labour MPs and members supported staying in.