April 3224
Clinton (above) only just lost the party leadership election by 1146 votes
In a series of dramatic events tonight, 3 members of the Forward Hutori party's frontbench team decided to all immediately resign to go onto the backbenches. John Clinton (Health spokesman), Graham Carter (Food) and Scott McCauley (Justice) officially declared their intention to leave at 3pm this afternoon in a joint statement issued exclusively to the Dispatch:
Since the election of Tony Upson we have become disillusioned with the course that the party has taken. We fundamentally disagree with the current leadership of this party, and can no longer hide our concerns whilst working as members of the frontbench team. We would therefore like to call on Mr Upson to change course, or alternatively, consider his position.
Despite the resignations however, other notable left wingers like Gregory Pimlott have chosen to stay on the frontbench. Mr Pimlott issued a brief statement a few hours later:
I do not see what John and the others hope will come of this. If they wish to change the party's stance it is better done from within the frontbench as opposed to out of it on the backbenches
A Socialist party backbencher had this to say when asked by the Dispatch what this meant for the FHP:
Well, I would say they are welcome to join us, there's no point holding onto a party that no longer represents your views. To be honest with you, they haven't left the party, the party has left them.
When asked for a statement, Tony Upson's office had this to say:
Tony Upson respects the views of his former frontbench colleagues, however, the party lost 12 seats at the last election and Mr Upson promised the party a fresh start during the leadership campaign.
According to recent membership figures since 3223, FHP membership has declined by 3,000 people.