Simon Danczuk says Labour is 'obsessed with Stalin and communism' in bitter resignation letter

Shamed former MP Simon Danczuk has launched a scathing attack on the Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn while resigning from the party, saying it is "no longer the political movement" he joined 30 years ago.

The former member for Rochdale said he made the decision to quit Labour days after he was banned from representing the party in the general election on 8 June after he was suspended from the party for sending sexually explicit texts to a 17-year-old girl.

In a bitter resignation letter, Danczuk said Labour has "totally lost touch" with its social democratic values because of front-bench members such a Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell "continually obsessing about Karl Marx, the benefits of communism and celebrating the reign of Joseph Stalin".

Danczuk added: "The Labour Party is no longer the positive political movement that I joined nearly 30 years ago. Indeed, under its current leadership the Labour Party is more interested in serving its own ends rather than those of hard-working people for whom the party was originally established.

"With front-bench spokespeople, such as John McDonnell, continually obsessing about Karl Marx, the benefits of communism and celebrating the reign of Joseph Stalin, I feel the Labour Party has totally lost touch with its social democratic values and indeed with reality in 21st-century Britain.

"Importantly, I am also concerned that the Labour Party has shown itself not to have the interests of Rochdale at heart. The way in which the party are treating the parliamentary seat of Rochdale as a 'safe seat' into which they can simply parachute a Corbyn-supporting candidate is deplorable. The people of Rochdale deserve so much more than being treated with such disdain by the Labour Party.

"With Theresa May likely to win a landslide victory at the general election and subsequently holding a very large majority in Parliament, Rochdale people need someone who will speak up for them, who will voice their concerns rather than simply being voting fodder for Jeremy Corbyn."

Danczuk is said to be considering running as an independent in Rochdale.