Former Labour MPs launch advertising blitz urging voters to reject Corbyn at election

Fifteen disaffected former MPs pen open letter saying they could not vote for their old party

A group of former Labour MPs have taken out full-page adverts in local newspapers urging voters not to back Jeremy Corbyn at the ballot box.

In a shock move on the eve of the general election, 15 disaffected former MPs penned an open letter saying they could not vote for their old party due to concerns about the Labour leader’s record on antisemitism and national security.

Arch-Corbyn critic Ian Austin said the letter would run as a full-page advert in several regional newspapers in the north of England, where Labour is battling to hold onto a number of seats.

The advert reads: “Everyone wants a safer, fairer society. But in this election the Labour Party is set to deliver the opposite.

“We were all lifelong Labour voters and all former Labour MPs. We are voting for different parties at this election, but we have all come to the difficult decision not to vote Labour.”

In the letter, the group expressed solidarity with British Jews, saying many had “well-founded fears about what Labour has become” and also warned that Mr Corbyn had “too often sided with those hostile to Britain, from the IRA to Russia”.

Signatories include Gisela Stuart, a Brexiteer, Jewish MP Dame Louise Ellman, and Labour defectors Gavin Shuker, John Woodcock, Chris Leslie and Mike Gapes.

Mr Austin, chair of the campaign group Mainstream, said: “This is a hard decision for Labour supporters to make. It was extremely difficult for me and the other former Labour MPs involved too. But the risk is just too great.

“If Jeremy Corbyn enters Downing Street on Friday 13, it would be a disaster for the United Kingdom.”

He said the party he joined had changed beyond recognition, adding: “It is no longer the party myself and millions of other Labour voters supported all our lives.

“I’m urging all decent Labour voters not to back Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday.”

While many of the MPs are well-known critics of Mr Corbyn, the move will still come as a blow to Labour as the campaign enters the final hours.

The Tories made hay with Mr Austin’s decision to urge voters to back Boris Johnson last month, paying for a string of Facebook adverts using footage of the ex-MP’s public criticism of the Labour leader.

On Tuesday, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth apologised to party members after being caught on tape saying the situation facing Labour was “abysmal” because voters “can’t stand Corbyn”.

Mr Ashworth admitted the leaked audio made him “look like a right plonker”, but said he made the remarks while “joking around” with Tory friend Greig Baker.

Mr Corbyn said Mr Ashworth had his “full support” – adding that he was “cool with Jon” and the comments were an example of his “rather odd sense of humour”.

Speaking on the campaign trail, the Labour leader said: “He said to me it was all about reverse psychology banter, as in football supporters, and the other person was saying the opposite about their party and it all got a bit out of hand.”

Meanwhile, the Tories faced a tumultuous day on the campaign trail as Mr Johnson was accused by the father of London Bridge victim Jack Merritt of using the attack as an “opportunity” to score political points.

It also followed criticism about Mr Johnson’s refusal to address an image of a four-year-old boy left sleeping on a hospital floor because there was no bed available.