WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CHANGE UK?

The eleven Change UK founders
back row l-r: Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna, Mike Gapes
middle: Angela Smith, Luciana Berger, Ann Coffey
bottom: Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry, Joan Ryan

One year ago today a group of eleven MPs formed Change UK, a party whose primary objective was to overturn the EU referendum.  Despite leaving the parties for whom they were elected, all refused to fight by-elections under their new banner.  The party was crushed in the European elections and was dissolved following the general election, at which none were re-elected to Parliament.

So, who faced the electorate and who bottled it?

Chris Leslie 

Leslie was the Labour MP for Nottingham East from 1997, a 57% Remain seat.  He defended the seat and finished fourth, losing his deposit.

Nadia Whittome (Lab) 25,735 (64.3%) -7.1%
Victoria Stapleton (Con) 8,342 (20.9%) -0.8%
Robert Swift (Lib Dem) 1,954 (4.9%) +2.3%
Chris Leslie (Change) 1,447 (3.6%) New
Damian Smith (Brexit) 1,343 (3.4%) New
Michelle Vacciana (Green) 1,183 (3.0%) +1.2%

Gavin Shuker

Shuker was the Labour MP for Luton South from 2010, a 55% Leave seat.  He left Change UK in June, but stood as an independent, finishing third.

Rachel Hopkins (Lab) 21,787 (51.8%) -10.6%
Parvez Akhtar (Con) 13,031 (31.0%) -1.3%
Gavin Shuker (Ind) 3,893 (9.3%) New
Garry Warren (Brexit) 1,601 (3.8%) New
Ben Foley (Green) 995 (2.4%) +1.4%
Mohammed Ashraf (Ind) 489 (1.2%) New
John French (Luton) 268 (0.6%) New

Chuka Umunna

Umunna was the Labour MP for Streatham from 2010, a 79% Remain seat.  He left Change UK in June and joined the Lib Dems later the same month.  He stood for the party in the Cities of London &Westminster, but failed to win.

Nickie Aiken (Con) 17,049 (39.9%) -6.7%
Chuka Umunna (Lib Dem) 13,096 (30.7%) +19.6% 
Gordon Nardell (Lab) 11,624 (27.2%) -11.2%
Zack Polanski (Green) 728 (1.7%) -0.4%
Jill McLachlan (Christian) 125 (0.3%) New
Dirk van Heck (Lib) 101 (0.2%) New

Mike Gapes

Gapes was the Labour MP for Ilford South from 1992, a 57% Remain seat.  He defended the seat, but finished third.

Sam Tarry (Lab) 35,085 (65.6%) -10.2%
Ali Azeem (Con) 10,984 (20.5%) -0.4%
Mike Gapes (Change) 3,891 (7.3%) New
Ashburn Holder (Lib Dem) 1,795 (3.4%) +2.0%
Munish Sharma (Brexit) 1,008 (1.9%) New
Rosemary Warrington (Green) 714 (1.3%) +0.4%

Angela Smith

Smith was the Labour MP for Penistone & Stocksbridge from 2005, a 61% Leave seat.  She left Change UK in June and joined the Lib Dems in September.  She stood for the party in Altrincham & Sale West and finished third.

Graham Brady (Con) 26,311 (48.0%) -3.0%
Andrew Western (Lab) 20,172 (36.8%) -2.0%

Angela Smith (Lib Dem) 6,036 (11.0%) +3.3%
Geraldine Coggins (Green) 1,566 (2.9%) +1.0%
Neil Taylor (Lib) 454 (0.8%) +0.3%
Iram Kiani (Ind) 224 (0.4%) New

Luciana Berger

Berger was the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010, a 65% Remain seat.  She left Change UK in June and joined the Lib Dems in September.  She stood for the party in Finchley & Golders Green, but failed to win.

Mike Freer (Con) 24,162 (43.8%) -3.1%
Luciana Berger (Lib Dem) 17,600 (31.9%) +25.3%
Ross Houston (Lab) 13,347 (24.2%) -19.6%

Ann Coffey

Coffey was the Labour MP for Stockport from 1992, a 53% Remain seat.  She stood down at the election.

Sarah Wollaston

Wollaston was the Conservative MP for Totnes from 2010, a 54% Leave seat.  She left Change UK in June and joined the Lib Dems in August.  She defended her seat as a Lib Dem, but lost.

Anthony Mangnall (Con) 27,751 (53.2%) - 0.5%
Sarah Wollaston (Lib Dem) 15,027 (28.8%) +15.9%
Louise Webberley (Lab) 8,860 (17.0%) -9.9%
John Kitson (Ind) 544 (1.0%) New

Heidi Allen

Allen was the Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire from 2015, a 62% Remain seat.  She left Change UK in June and joined the Lib Dems in October.  She stood down at the election.

Anna Soubry

Soubry was the Conservative MP for Broxtowe from 2010, a 53% Leave seat.  She defended the seat, but finished third.

Darren Henry (Con) 26,602 (48.1%) +1.3%
Greg Marshall (Lab) 21,271 (38.5%) -6.8%
Anna Soubry (Change) 4,668 (8.5%) New
Kat Boettge (Green) 1,806 (3.3%) +2.0%
Amy Dalla Mura (Eng Dem) 432 (0.8%) New
Teck Khong (Ind) 321 (0.6%) New
David Bishop (Elvis) 172 (0.3%) New

Joan Ryan

Ryan was the Labour MP for Enfield North from 1997, a 51% Remain seat.  She stood down at the election.

IN FOCUS: SHEFFIELD

The Steel City contains five Parliamentary constituencies inside its boundaries.  A sixth seat - Penistone and Stocksbridge - overlaps Sheffield and Barnsley, consisting of three council wards from each.  At the 2017 general election all six seats returned Labour MPs, but two of whom have since resigned from the party.

Population (2018 est):  582,506
City Council:  Labour, since 2011
Composition:  Labour (49 cllrs), Lib Dem (26), Green (8), Ind (1)
Ethnic make-up (2011):  white 88.1%, Asian 6.8%, black 2.5%, mixed 1.9%, other 0.7%
EU referendum:  51% Leave
Largest Parliamentary majority:  Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield, Lab) majority 27,748
Smallest Parliamentary majority:  Penistone & Stocksbridge (Angela Smith, Lib Dem*) majority 1,322

* Elected as a Labour MP

The 2017 general election turned Sheffield 100% red for the first time in history, having finally taken the seat of Hallam.  The Lib Dems had held Hallam for twenty years up to that point, before which it was a Conservative seat.  Hallam will be one to watch in the forthcoming election, as will Penistone & Stocksbridge.  The Lib Dems will look to retake Hallam and the Tories will have their eye on Penistone, although the presence of a Brexit Party candidate could prevent a Tory gain there.

Sheffield City Council was fought over by Labour and the Lib Dems for more than a decade before Labour took decisive control in 2011.  The Lib Dems remain the main opposition party and there are no Conservative councillors.

Sheffield is part of another layer of local government, the Sheffield City Region.  This is headed by an elected mayor - Labour's Dan Jarvis.  Jarvis is a controversial figure, having refused to give up his seat in Parliament when he took on the role.  This has led to him being called 'Two Jobs Jarvis'.  He will be defending his Barnsley Central seat again at the next election.

The city voted narrowly to Leave in 2016 and its constituencies are divided between strong Leave and strong Remain votes.  All the MPs elected in 2017 were Remainers.

Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough

Incumbent:  Gill Furniss (Lab), majority 19,143

Born:  Sheffield, 1957

First elected:  2016 (by-election)

Leave/Remain:  Remain, but voted to trigger Article 50

Notes:  Furniss is the widow of the previous MP Harry Harpham

Brightside & Hillsborough has been held by Labour since its creation in 2010

EU referendum:  60% Leave

General election 2017

Gill Furniss (Lab) 28,193 (67.3%) +10.8%
Michael Naughton (Con) 9,050 (21.6%) +10.6%
Shane Harper (UKIP) 2,645 (6.3%) -15.8%
Simon Clement-Jones (Lib Dem) 1,061 (2.5%) -2.0%
Christine Kubo (Green) 737 (1.8%) -2.5%
Mike Driver (Workers) 137 (0.3%) New
Muzafar Rahman (SDP) 47 (0.1%) New

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Sheffield Central

Incumbent:  Paul Blomfield (Lab), majority 27,748
Born:  Kent, 1953
First elected:  2010
Leave/Remain:  Remain, but voted to trigger Article 50
Notes:  Endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge

Sheffield Central has been held by Labour since its creation in 1983

EU referendum:  68% Remain, strongest Remain seat in Sheffield

General election 2017

Paul Blomfield (Lab) 33,963 (70.9%) +15.9%
Stephanie Roe (Con) 6,215 (13.0%) +1.8%
Natalie Bennett (Green) 3,848 (8.0%) -7.8%
Shaffaq Mohammed (Lib Dem) 2,465 (5.1%) -4.5%
Dominic Cook (UKIP) 1,060 (2.2%) -5.2%
Jack Carrington (Yorkshire) 197 (0.4%) New
Rob Moran (Pirate) 91 (0.2%) New
Joe Westnidge (SDP) 38 (0.1%) New

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Sheffield Hallam

Incumbent:  Jared O'Mara (Ind), majority 2,125
Born:  Sheffield, 1981
First elected:  2017, as a Labour MP
Leave/Remain:  Remain
Notes:  O'Mara was not expected to win the seat and it was one of the biggest shocks on election night.  He suffers from various health problems including cerebral palsy.  He didn't make his maiden speech in the Commons until July 2018, more than a year after he was elected.  He was the final MP to do so.  He was suspended by Labour in October 2017 over misogynistic and homophobic comments, but the party announced in July 2018 that he would be reinstated.  However, he resigned from the party days later and clung onto his seat as an independent.  He will not stand in the forthcoming election.
Scandals:  Online comments, treatment of staff, Twitter hijack, sexual harassment, fraud arrest

Hallam has been held by Labour since 2017, before which it was held by the Lib Dems since 1997.  Between 1918 and 1997 the seat was held by the Conservatives.

EU referendum:  66% Remain

General election 2017

Jared O'Mara (Lab) 21,881 (38.4%) +2.6%
Nick Clegg (Lib Dem) 19,756 (34.7%) -5.3%
Ian Walker (Con) 13,561 (23.8%) +10.2%
John Thurley (UKIP) 929 (1.6%) -4.8%
Logan Robin (Green) 823 (1.4%) -1.8%
Steven Winstone (SDP) 70 (0.1%) New

BTLP general election prediction:  Lib Dem GAIN

Sheffield Heeley

Incumbent:  Louise Haigh (Lab), majority 13,828
Born:  Sheffield, 1987
First elected:  2015
Leave/Remain:  Remain, but voted to trigger Article 50
Notes:  Shadow Minister of State for Policing.  Endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.

Heeley has been held by Labour since 1974

EU referendum:  57% Leave

General election 2017

Louise Haigh (Lab) 26,524 (60.0%) +11.8%
Gordon Gregory (Con) 12,696 (28.7%) +12.6%
Joe Otten (Lib Dem) 2,022 (4.6%) -6.7%
Howard Denby (UKIP) 1,977 (4.5%) -12.9%
Declan Walsh (Green) 943 (2.1%) -4.0%
Jaspreet Oberoi (SDP) 64 (0.1%) New

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Sheffield South East

Incumbent:  Clive Betts (Lab), majority 11,798
Born:  Sheffield, 1950
First elected:  1992
Leave/Remain:  Remain, but voted to trigger Article 50
Notes:  Elected for Sheffield Attercliffe in 1992, his third attempt to enter Parliament.  Suspended from Parliament for seven days in 2003 over the Brazilian male escort scandal.  Endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.
Scandals:  Brazilian male escort visa, expenses scandal, McDonalds trip

Sheffield South East has been held by Labour since its creation in 2010.  Its predecessor seat (Sheffield Attercliffe) was held by Labour from 1935.

EU referendum:  66% Leave, strongest Leave seat in Sheffield

General election 2017

Clive Betts (Lab) 25,520 (58.5%) +7.1%
Lindsey Cawrey (Con) 13,722 (31.5%) +14.1%
Dennise Dawson (UKIP) 2,820 (6.5%) -15.4%
Colin Ross (Lib Dem) 1,432 (3.3%) -2.1%
Ishleen Oberoi (SDP) 102 (0.2%) New

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Penistone & Stocksbridge

Incumbent:  Angela Smith (Lib Dem), majority 1,322
Born:  Grimsby, 1961
First elected:  2005, as a Labour MP
Leave/Remain:  Remain, abstained in the vote on triggering Article 50
Notes:  She represented Sheffield Hillsborough from 2005 until it was abolished in the 2010 boundary changes, after which she switched to the new seat of Penistone & Stocksbridge.  A vocal opponent of Jeremy Corbyn, she endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.  In February 2019 she quit Labour along with six other MPs and was a founder member of Change UK.  In September she joined the Liberal Democrats, but will contest Altrincham & Sale West in Cheshire at the next election.
Scandals:  Expenses scandal, funny tinge

Penistone & Stocksbridge was held by Labour from its creation in 2010.  The seat of Penistone on which its boundaries are similar was held by Labour from 1935 to its abolition in 1983.

EU referendum:  61% Leave

General election 2017

Angela Smith (Lab) 22,807 (45.8%) +3.8%
Nicola Wilson (Con) 21,485 (43.2%) +15.5%
John Booker (UKIP) 3,453 (6.9%) -16.0%
Penny Baker (Lib Dem) 2,042 (4.1%) - 2.2%

BTLP general election prediction:  Con GAIN

NEXT WEEK:  Liverpool

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BREXIT-BLOCKING LEGAL ACTIONS

A second legal action aimed at preventing a no deal Brexit has been launched.  Remain campaigner Gina Miller has already served a legal notice on Boris Johnson that she be informed of any plan to suspend Parliament with seven days notice (so that she can challenge the decision in court).  Yes, she holds herself in such high regard.  Despite everything Gina is still bizarrely claiming that she is not trying to stop Brexit.  As Niall Paterson recently observed in a Sky interview with her:  "There will be people watching this going 'Who do you think you are?'"  Miller replied (with a straight face):  "Each of us in a democracy as a citizen has the right to exercise our legitimate questions of the courts".  Well Gina, there were 17.4million citizens of this democracy who exercised their rights in 2016 and you are clearly trying to frustrate and deny their legitimate mandate.

The latest attempt to stop Boris Johnson proroguing Parliament involves a group of cross-party MPs and peers seeking a ruling from the Court of Session in Edinburgh.  Their aim is to declare such a move 'unlawful'.  Politicians named in the legal action are mostly Labour, with a spattering of SNP, Plaid, Lib Dems, Green and a couple of former Change UK cranks (see list below).

Debbie Abrahams (Labour)

Rushanara Ali (Labour)

Heidi Allen (Ind, at time of writing)

Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour)

Hannah Bardell (SNP)

Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour)

Ben Bradshaw (Labour)

Tom Brake (Lib Dem)

Karen Buck (Labour)

Ruth Cadbury (Labour)

Joanna Cherry (SNP)

Marsha de Cordova (Labour)

Ronnie Cowan (SNP)

Neil Coyle (Labour)

Geraint Davies (Labour)

Lord Hain (Labour)

Baroness Jones (Green)

Ian Murray (Labour)

Baroness Royall (Labour)

Angela Smith (Ind)

Jo Swinson (Lib Dem)

Hywel Williams (Plaid)

Lord Winston (Labour)

Lord Wood (Labour)

CHANGE UK SPLITS

'Change UK' met today and its eleven MPs have decided to part ways.  This follows its European election disaster in which it spent shedloads of cash and finished eighth with not a single seat to show for its efforts.  The split itself was thought to have been triggered by a public spat between Anna Soubry and Change leader Heidi Allen.

Soubry will now take Heidi's place as leader while four of her colleagues stay put - Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie and Joan Ryan.

Those who have quit Change UK will return to being just plain old independents - Chuka, Heidi, Luciana Berger, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith and Sarah Wollaston.

By-elections anyone?

CLEESE SENDS TROLLS INTO FRENZY

John Cleese has kept leftie Twitter trolls in business today with the above tweet.  5,000 comments and counting, many of them screaming "wacist" and the like.  If John Cleese is such a racist, why does he now live on a Caribbean island surrounded by black people?  Just saying.

PS. Note that he is followed by remoaner Tom Watson, as you can see bottom left of the frame.  In fact John Cleese has a lot of hard Remain followers including Clive Lewis, Stella Creasy, Peter Kyle, Anna McMorrin and Change UK's Angela Smith.  Bet they loved this tweet, not.

CHUKA APPOINTS HIS TEAM

Chuka's Independent Group have clearly had a busy week planning for the future (all three years of it, if that).  Of course they'd rather have spent the week welcoming new members, but the flow appears to have trickled to a full stop.  Anyhow, they've allocated their roles...

No surprises to see Chuka as de facto leader aka "spokesman", but interesting to see some of the other choices.  Poor Gavin Shuker has been designated "group convener", a title that sounds about as important as that of teaboy!  Surely 'chairman' would have sounded better?  Sarah Wollaston also appears to have gone to the bottom of the pile as her role sounds like someone who answers the front door at a house party.  The problem with that analogy is the doorbell hasn't rang since she and her Tory colleagues signed up.

Soubry is responsible for Brexit, a role more accurately described as 'stopping Brexit'.  Angela 'Funny Tinge' Smith has got a surprisingly big portfolio for an idiot.  Berger, Gapes and Leslie appear to be Chuka's top dogs.

It's all moot, of course.  None of them will be MPs after the next election.

TWIT OF THE WEEK

With all the media attention on the Gang of Seven it was vital they did not make a pigs ear of it on Day One.  Step forward Angela Smith, arguably the most odious member of the collective.  Smith is renowned for voting against the triggering of Article 50 - not by itself particularly shocking, but 61 per cent of her constituents voted to leave the EU.

Unfortunately for the Gang of Seven it was Angela who appeared as their representative on Politics Live.  This came in the wake of their press conference in which each of the MPs denounced Labour anti-Semitism.  Angela's appearance on Politics Live couldn't have been worse as she stuttered and dithered her way to a race row of her own...

How Chuka, Luciana and co must have cringed!  Worse still, sitting opposite her on Politics Live was none other than Ash Sarkar, famous for her "I'm literally a communist" outburst and one of Corbyn's biggest tubthumpers.  It was a coup for the Corbynistas.

Whatever Angela Smith was trying to say is open to interpretation, but the general consensus is that she was leading to the words 'funny tinge'.  She later apologised in an equally cringeworthy video on Twitter...

Unfortunately that wasn't the end of it for hapless Smith.  Instead of going to ground for a day or two she appeared on Sky News the following day to give another disastrous interview in which she claimed her Politics Live gaffe was because she was "very, very tired".  There must be lots of ambulance workers out there, veterinary surgeons on call - or just poor unfortunates with mind-numbing insomnia - who don't resort to casual racism when they've had a rough night!

It couldn't have happened to a nicer anti-democrat.  Like her TIG colleagues, Angela won't be giving her constituents the opportunity to re-elect her in a by-election.  Why should we be surprised?  After all, she's already spent the last two and a half years trying to do the opposite to what they voted for in the EU referendum!

2-4-6-8 IT'S NOT A SPLIT

The will-they-won't-they saga continues.  Various news outlets are now putting figures on how many Labour MPs will quit.  The Daily Mail says 'up to ten', the Express 'eight' and the Guardian says 'six or more'.  They all agree the 'split' is 'imminent', although none can agree on when it will happen.  The Mail claimed it might happen on Friday, the Express says it may happen on Monday.  ITV are very specific and claim it 'may' happen on the 27th of Feb.

Give us a break!  Whether or not these half a dozen(ish) MPs walk out and form their own Remain party, it is hardly a split.

If we take the upper estimate of ten quitters - that's less than 4 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour party and would give the new party less MPs than the Liberal Democrats.  The Lib Dems have their origins in an earlier Labour split, but their current pathetic Parliamentary numbers should be fair warning for anyone trying to set up a new party, let alone something that could possibly challenge the two-party monopoly.  If Chuka and co are serious about prolonging their Parliamentary careers why don't they just join the referendum-ignoring Lib Dems?  After all that is their game - trying to overturn the referendum result.

Whatever happens, whenever it happens, or if it doesn't happen at all (good chance of the latter) - it's hardly a split.

Potential quitters (according to various sources)

Chuka Umunna, of course (but as a leader?)

Ian Austin, having recently voted against extending Article 50 would he join a clique of hardcore Remainers?

Luciana Berger, no-one would blame her for walking away

Angela Eagle, failed leadership bottler of 2016

Peter Kyle, hasn't even served a full Parliamentary term yet

Chris Leslie, long-term critic of Corbyn

Alison McGovern, snowflake who categorically denied on Friday she would be quitting

Gavin Shuker, who?

Ruth Smeeth, another Jewish MP under the cosh

Angela Smith, ardent remoaner embarrassingly turned away from Labour HQ with 'Losers Vote' petition

Owen Smith, failed leadership challenger and another ardent remoaner

A lesson from history Chuka!

THE TRAITORS LIST

Below is a comprehensive list of serving Members of Parliament who have publicly backed a second EU referendum in defiance of the People's Vote of 2016.  Labour MPs are in bold.

Rushanara Ali – Labour

Heidi Allen – Conservative

Rosena Allin-Khan – Labour

Tonia Antoniazzi – Labour

Guto Bebb – Conservative

Margaret Beckett – Labour

Luciana Berger – Labour
Ian Blackford – SNP

Roberta Blackman-Woods – Labour

Ben Bradshaw – Labour

Tom Brake – Lib Dems

Chris Bryant – Labour

Karen Buck – Labour

Richard Burden – Labour

Vince Cable – Lib Dems

Ruth Cadbury – Labour
Alistair Carmichael – Lib Dems

Ann Clwyd – Labour

Ann Coffey  – Labour

Neil Coyle – Labour

Mary Creagh – Labour

Stella Creasy – Labour

Janet Daby – Labour

Ed Davey – Lib Dems

Geraint Davies – Labour

Stephen Doughty – Labour

Rosie Duffield – Labour
Angela Eagle – Labour

Maria Eagle – Labour

Julie Elliott – Labour

Louise Ellmann – Labour

Tim Farron – Lib Dems

Paul Flynn – Labour

Mike Gapes – Labour

Roger Godsiff – Labour

Kate Green – Labour

Justine Greening – Conservative

Dominic Grieve – Conservative

Paul Farrelly – Labour

Helen Hayes – Labour

Wera Hobhouse – Lib Dems 

Margaret Hodge – Labour

Rupa Huq – Labour

Christine Jardine – Lib Dems

Darren Jones – Labour

Susan Elan Jones – Labour

Peter Kyle – Labour

Norman Lamb – Lib Dems

David Lammy – Labour

Chris Leslie – Labour

Caroline Lucas – Green

Kerry McCarthy – Labour

Siobhan McDonagh – Labour

Alison McGovern – Labour

Catherine McKinnell – Labour
Anna McMorrin – Labour

Madeleine Moon – Labour

Layla Moran – Lib Dems

Stephen Morgan – Labour

Ian Murray – Labour

Jess Phillips – Labour

Bridget Phillipson – Labour

Stephen Pound – Labour

Steve Reed – Labour

Ellie Reeves – Labour
Rachel Reeves – Labour

Liz Saville Roberts – Plaid Cymru

Joan Ryan – Labour

Virendra Sharma – Labour

Barry Sheerman – Labour

Tommy Sheppard – SNP
Tulip Siddiq – Labour

Andy Slaughter – Labour

Angela Smith – Labour

Jeff Smith– Labour

Owen Smith – Labour

Alex Sobel – Labour
Anna Soubry – Conservative

Jo Stevens – Labour

Jamie Stone – Lib Dems

Wes Streeting – Labour

Jo Swinson – Lib Dem
Gareth Thomas – Labour

Stephen Timms – Labour
Anna Turley – Labour
Chuka Umunna – Labour

Catherine West – Labour

Martin Whitfield – Labour
Paul Williams – Labour
Phil Wilson – Labour

Sarah Wollaston – Conservative

Daniel Zeichner – Labour

ANGELA'S COMEUPPANCE

The odious member for Penistone and Stocksbridge certainly appears to have got her comeuppance.  Angela Smith, of ardent remoaner fame, has lost a no confidence vote in her constituency.  Not so much to do with the fact she has consistently opposed Brexit in a massive Leave constituency, but her criticism of the Great Leader.  Dissent will not be tolerated in Corbyn's Labour and the Momentum deselection train last night rolled into the steel city and struck her a severe blow.

Ironically she was one of the MPs who backed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn two years ago and supported her namesake Owen Smith in the subsequent leadership contest.  Clearly Angela has had this coming a while.  Since then she has dared to question the re-nationalisation policies of the Great Leader and she is currently peddling a 'People's Vote' petition addressed directly to Corbyn.

It is this ardent and unapologetic remoaning - in the face of a 61% Leave constituency - that leads us to maintain dry eyes when it comes to her current predicament.  Whereas we have struck a sympathetic chord with some centre-ground MPs attacked by Momentum's deselection campaign (Frank Field, Kate Hoey etc), Angela Smith is a vile individual who deserves no such sympathy.  In addition to her Brexit blocking record in the Commons, she has also attempted to conceal her expenses.  In 2007 she voted against publicising MPs' expenses and it soon transpired why - she had claimed almost £11,000 in just two years, including four beds for a ONE BEDROOM FLAT!

Smith has responded to the deselection threat by denouncing her detractors as a "cabal of hard left members", an accurate description, but also vowed to fight on and "prioritise our area and my constituents".  Like you prioritised their Leave vote Angela?