The breakaway of seven Labour MPs to form a centrist political movement has immediately sparked speculation that moderate pro-EU Tories could follow them and jump ship.
Prominent ex-minister Nick Boles, who has been threatened with deselection by his local Tory party, has declined to rule out joining The Independent Group (TIG).
Boles insisted he was “totally focused” on blocking a no-deal Brexit, but he did not directly address questions on whether he could join the Labour splitters, who have issued an open invitation to MPs from other parties.
Asked if he could join TIG, the Grantham and Stamford MP said: “They’re all good people and I understand completely why they felt driven to leave Labour. I have not spoken with any of them about their plans and am totally focused on working with MPs of all parties to stop a no-deal Brexit on 29 March.”
HuffPost UK also understands at least one other Tory MP is keeping their options open, while former chancellor George Osborne said the breakaway “could be the start of something very big in British politics”.
Tory George Freeman, who quit as the head of Theresa May’s policy unit, said the Labour split was “a reminder of the pressure” parties are under to adapt to a new politics.
“Unless the Conservatives reunite around a pro-business Brexit and recast it as a moment of inspiring One Nation renewal for a new generation, we’ll be next,” he added in a tweet.
One Tory MP, who did not wish to be named, said colleagues who face the threat of deselection such as Boles, as well as People’s Vote backers Sarah Wollaston and Anna Soubry, could use TIG as a lifeboat.
All three have promised to quit the party if Theresa May pursues a no deal Brexit, with Wollaston warning last week that “running down the clock” to exit day on March 29 could force her into that decision soon.
The MP said: “I’d be surprised if anyone went now but there are a few who have been talking to that group (TIG) about a second referendum, so if Brexit doesn’t go their way they may join them especially if the deselection reports get more likely.
“I don’t think the numbers will be that high from us.”
A former minister, however, said fear of a breakaway could discourage local Tory associations from deselecting their MPs in case they stood for TIG and split the party’s vote.
The MP said: “It may make some of the associations who are considering not readopting sitting remoaning MPs think again, as they would now have a home to go to.”
Launching TIG, Chuka Umunna called on MPs from Labour and other parties to “leave the old tribal politics behind” and join.
“It is time we dumped this country’s old-fashioned politics and created an alternative that does justice to who we are today and gives this country a politics fit for the here and now, the 21st century not the last one,” he said.
“We’ve taken the first step in leaving the old tribal politics behind and we invite others who share our political values to do so too.
“You might come from a Labour background but you might come from other political traditions. Yes, it’s a difficult decision - make no mistake about that.
“But you don’t join a political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it. You get involved in politics, you join a party, to change the world.
“We invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus on a way forward for Britain.”