Labour’s LGBT envoy Lord Michael Cashman quits over Jeremy Corbyn
The veteran campaigner said he felt he had little choice but to step down following last week’s EU outcome.
Michael Cashman, Labour’s LGBT rights envoy, has quit the party because he says “Jeremy Corbyn is no longer the right person to lead.”
His resignation followed a string of frontbenchers quitting their roles in protest at his leadership.
Lord Cashman was influential in shaping Labour policy on LGBT equality during the Blair era.
The campaigner was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands in 1999, and consistently championed LGBT equality in Europe until he stepped down in 2014.
He was appointed to the House of Lords the same year, with Ed Miliband naming him the Labour Party’s special envoy on LGBT issues.
Lord Cashman won a PinkNews Award in 2014, and picked up a posthumous award dedicated to his late civil partner Paul Cottingham.
Mr Corbyn said that although he regrets the resignations, he will stand in any new leadership election, before he announced his new shadow cabinet.
The shake up comes amid accusations that Mr Corbyn’s attempts to persuade his supporters to ‘Remain’ in the European Union was ‘lacklustre’.
Less than twenty-fours after the result came in MP Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey revealed their plans to lead a vote of no confidence against Mr Corbyn.
This was followed by the shock sacking of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, in the early hours of Sunday, after he told the party’s leader that he had lost confidence in him.
Then came the mass resignations – the MP for Islington lost 12 of his shadow cabinet on Sunday and four shadow ministers on today, following the country’s decision to leave the EU last week.
Amongst those opting to abandon their positions was Chris Bryant, now former shadow leader of the House of Commons, who told Mr Corbyn he risked “breaking the Labour party” unless he resigned.
