Sharon Hodgson, Member of Parliament for Washington & Sunderland West and Shadow Minister for Public Health has issued the below statement regarding the decision of 7 Labour MPs to leave the Party today:

‘This is a very sad day in the history of our Party and whilst I respect and understand why the 7 have reached their decision, for me the Labour Party is my Party in the same way my family is my family and I can’t envisage any circumstances that would make me leave.

I stood on a very strong and popular manifesto in 2017. A manifesto that would have changed the lives of the people I represent for the better. I respect the efforts of Jeremy Corbyn, who is trying to find a way through Brexit looking after and protecting the jobs and living standards of the people of Washington, Sunderland and the wider UK.’