Labour lawmaker quits party in latest jolt to UK politics

LONDON – A 12th British lawmaker this week has quit one of the country’s main political parties, as fallout from Brexit continues to splinter U.K. politics.

Ian Austin said Friday he had quit the main opposition Labour Party, accusing it of having a “culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance” under left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But he said he was not joining eight other ex-Labour lawmakers and three Conservatives who this week formed the centrist Independent Group.

The group hopes to gain members from disgruntled pro-Europeans in both the Labour and Conservative parties and forge a new force at the centre of British politics. They oppose the Conservative government’s determination to take Britain out of the European Union on March 29, even if there is no divorce deal in place.