Former MP Mike Gapes has rejoined Labour after quitting under Jeremy Corbyn to form a rival party.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” to welcome Mr Gapes back.
Mr Gapes quit the party in 2019 and unsuccessfully stood against it in Ilford South at the election that year for the Independent Group for Change, which he founded alongside breakaway MPs from Labour and the Tories.
Writing in the Times, Mr Gapes said Sir Keir had tackled antisemitism in Labour and “relentlessly focused on making it once again a patriotic, serious party of mainstream Britain”.
That Mike has rejoined our party shows how much we’ve changed our party to face the public, root out antisemitism, support business, be proud of our NATO membership.
I know there is more to do so we can change our country and deliver our missions for a better Britain. https://t.co/ymZeCamE4h
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 7, 2023
Sir Keir said: “Like many others, Mike turned away from the party in recent years because it no longer represented traditional Labour values. But we’ve changed and there’s no going back.
“That Mike has chosen to rejoin is a tribute to the hard work already done to change our party: to face the electorate, to root out antisemitism, support business, to celebrate patriotism and our Nato membership, not chastise it.
“I know there is more to do, and I’m really pleased that Mike will be with us in this ongoing work to change our party so that we can change our country and deliver our missions for a better Britain.”
The return of Mr Gapes to the Labour fold follows Luciana Berger’s decision to rejoin last month.
