Jamie Reed, the Labour MP for Copeland, has announced he is stepping down from Parliament from the end of January 2017. He is leaving to work at Sellafield, which is in his constituency.
Reed is a well known critic of Jeremy Corbyn, and though his resignation letter is warm and polite, it makes frequent and pointed references to the need for a Labour government. It closes with Reed wishing Corbyn well in his endeavours to become the next Labour Prime Minister, something the MP has made pretty clear in previous statements that he thinks is impossible.
Jamie Reed’s resignation letter
So why is he leaving? Reed’s constituency is now a marginal seat, with a majority of just 2,564. If he just managed to win it under a Miliband leadership, the chances of him holding it at the next election look pretty remote.
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