Labour MP and former TV star Gloria de Piero QUITS amid ‘utterly offensive’ abuse from hard-Left

Labour moderate MP Gloria de Piero quit last night – accusing the party under Jeremy Corbyn of lacking tolerance of different viewpoints.

The former TV presenter stepped down from her role as shadow justice minister and will not stand in her Ashfield seat at the next election.

Ms de Piero said she had faced online abuse from Remain supporters who opposed her support for Brexit.

And she found it ‘utterly offensive’ when the hard-Left called her and people like her ‘Right-wing’ just because they were centrist.

Ms de Piero joins around half a dozen other Labour MPs who will not stand at the next election, whenever it comes.

Mr Corbyn was accused of ‘cover-up and conspiracy’ last night after it emerged that his most senior aide sought to overturn rulings of Labour’s highest disciplinary body.

Leaked emails show chief of staff Karie Murphy said it was ‘absurd’ that the independent National Constitutional Committee (NCC) could ‘overrule’ concerns raised by the leadership.

During a speech to Labour members in Ashfield, Ms de Piero said she had made ‘lifelong friends’ in the party, saying she had been ‘inspired’ by the younger members and ‘learned so much’ from the veterans. 

Labour moderate MP Gloria de Piero quit last night – accusing the party under Jeremy Corbyn of lacking tolerance of different viewpoints

Gloria De Piero announced she will not be standing as a Labour candidate in the next election

But she added: ‘I’ve been thinking a lot since I put in my papers to say that I intended to restand and I’ve had time to think about whether I can continue to give you all the energy and personal sacrifices that you need as a Labour champion for this constituency. You deserve the absolute best.

‘And while I’ve given the people in this room and this constituency everything I have for the last 9 years, I question whether I can give you the commitment you deserve for what could be a further 8 years. 

‘The lack of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Labour Party frankly worries me,’ Ms de Piero said

‘So tonight I am announcing that I will not be re-standing as the Labour candidate in Ashfield at the next election.’

Ms de Piero added that she would be writing to Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Burgon to step down from the front bench.  

‘The Labour Party is made up of mostly good people who sometimes disagree on how to achieve good,’ she said. 

‘There is nothing wrong with that. It’s good and its healthy and it should be welcomed.

‘The lack of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Labour Party frankly worries me.

‘We have to have respect for each other, even if we disagree, because we are all part of this Party.’

Ms de Piero said people in the local party respected her position over the referendum result. 

‘It’s a democracy we live in after all,’ she continued, ‘but the abuse I’ve had on social media from some who want to overturn the referendum has been pretty grim – so to all those who have said that I only hold the position I do because I want to hold my seat, I’m afraid it’s much worse than that – I actually believe it and I’ll keep fighting for a Brexit with the closest possible trading ties with the EU.’