Alice Mahon leaves the Labour Party

In her resignation letter she states :

"It is not a party I recognise - I have lost faith with it," she told the BBC. "I am very very sad, the Labour party has been my life."

Mrs Mahon said it had taken "months of agonising to reach my decision."

She said the final push came after the recent scandal surrounding emails sent by Mr Brown's special adviser, Damian McBride, who sent emails proposing unfounded slurs about senior Tories.

Mrs Mahon is also angry at the government's Welfare Reform Bill saying it was "an assault on people with disabilities and the poor" and that it was remarkable it was being inflicted "in the middle of a recession".

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"There is bewilderment… that as a government we have not taken on the bankers, who are still doing as they please and taking large bonuses," she said.

"I have reached the conclusion that there is not any avenue left in the structure of the Labour party for people like me.

"Any threat from anybody marginally from the left and… the party machine comes down on them like a ton of bricks."

Can't argue with that, but can the left outside the LP and those who leave find a way to build a new Party that won't just descend into sectarian fights . The Labour Party is a lost cause , but recent history does not bode well for the left to work together and build a mass party .

Susan has posted on this with more background.