MPs Who Quit Their Party - Traitorous or Principled?

Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen have today quit the Conservative Party citing Brexit and a lurch to the right. While I fundamentally disagree with their opinions on these matters I applaud and indeed salute their principled stance. They will join with the breakaway Independent Group formed by Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes and Joan Ryan who similarly resigned from the Labour Party yesterday, albeit for perhaps different reasons; the Tories not being endemically and systematically anti-Semitic.

I am sure that for all these MPs their decision to realign themselves with a new and fledgling group will have not been easy and I am sure they will know that it may well come at a cost. I believe that principled politicians are to be admired not pilloried. In my opinion those with strong principles must follow them. However, if those same principles put them at odds with the political party on whose support and manifesto they relied upon to get them elected then they must make it clear that they are putting themselves forward for re-election on an independent platform based on the tenets they have espoused. Simply resigning the whip, or leaving the Party, is not enough. Have the courage of your convictions and fight a by-election. 

Whilst I support those who take a moral and principled stand I have nothing but contempt for those who are not brave enough to have the courage of their own convictions. I speak particularly of Dominic Grieve.

The Tories fought the last general election with an explicit promise to take us; out of the EU, out of the Customs Union, out of the Single Market and beyond the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Yet, as Theresa May seeks to carry out the will of the electorate, as expressed in the referendum and to fulfil the promises made in the party's manifesto, the self-aggrandising braggadocio Mr Grieve is content to vote against his party and attempt to frustrate them at every turn. Aided and abetted by that other cowardly political pygmy the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

Obviously, I recognise that on a personal level, Mr Grieve must follow his own conscience and be true to what he believes. However, my problem with his behaviour is that he enjoys a position which requires him to champion not his own opinions but the wishes of those who elected him (and those from the wider electorate who won the referendum). As he is a barrister I am surprised that he appears to be a stranger to this fundamental principle of advocacy. It appears that I am not alone in my stance as Mr Grieve will face a no confidence motion at an annual meeting of Beaconsfield Conservatives on March 29 which will state that the association has no confidence in Dominic Grieve, that he should not stand for re-election at the next general election and the association should commence proceedings for selecting a new candidate.

While I am familiar with Lyndon B. Johnson’s sentiments regarding J. Edgar Hoover ("I'd rather have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in") I think that if he is not prepared to fulfil his role as an advocate for the people, he should remain firm to his convictions and principles, resign and fight a by-election as an independant.