Alastair Campbell thrown out of Labour Party
Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell has been expelled from the Labour Party after admitting he voted for the Liberal Democrats in the European elections.
Mr Campbell, a leading campaigner for a second referendum on Brexit, said he was "sad and disappointed" by the decision.
A Labour Party spokesman said "support for another political party or candidate is incompatible with Party membership".
1. Sad and disappointed to receive email expelling me from @uklabour – particularly on a day leadership finally seems to be moving to the right place on Brexit, not least thanks to tactical voting by party members, including MPs, councillors and peers who back @peoplesvote_uk .
— Alastair PEOPLE'S VOTE Campbell (@campbellclaret) May 28, 2019
Mr Campbell, one of the key players in the New Labour era, insisted there was "plenty of precedent" of members voting for other parties or causes and pointed out Jeremy Corbyn's own rebellious past in Westminster votes during Mr Blair's premiership.
And he said there was a difference in the swift way his situation had been dealt with compared to "the way anti-Semitism cases have been handled".