In some ways this isn’t surprising.
Rosie Duffield has been open with her discontent with the party, specifically over the party’s gender views – and she has been only too happy in her disagreement with Sir Keir Starmer.
But what is surprising is the strength and tone of the letter – it is savage – and the most scathing remarks are reserved for the prime minister.
She calls his recent decisions over scrapping most winter fuel payments to pensioners and the choice to keep the two child benefit cap (for now) as “cruel”.
She writes: “Forcing a vote to make many older people iller and colder while you and your favourite colleagues enjoy free family trips to events most people would have to save hard for – why are you not showing even the slightest bit of embarrassment or remorse?”
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While Sir Keir has spent the week defending some of the donations and trying to move on the agenda from this row, Ms Duffield said the “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” of his government are “off the scale”.
She continues: “Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses. I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”
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Ms Duffield also rehashes a moment during the election campaign where it was unclear whether the first Black woman MP would be allowed to stand in the election.
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“In particular, the recent treatment of Diane Abbott, now Mother of the House, was deeply shameful and led to comments from voters across the political spectrum,” she wrote.
“A woman of her political stature and place in history is deserving of respect and support, regardless of political differences.”
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While Labour said on Saturday night that they aren’t commenting on this, it’s important for two reasons.
It’s damaging not only because of the prominence it gives to the noise around donations that the government had hoped would go away, but also because one of the reasons voters punished the Conservatives so badly in the election was over their chaos and disunity that Labour pointed out to them.
Sir Keir won on a platform of “country first, politics second”, but a defection so soon risks sending the message that it could be more of the same.
