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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11233192" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="charlie-mullins">Charlie Mullins</keyword>' company <keyword id="11233193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pimlico-plumbers">Pimlico Plumbers</keyword> has worked hard to bring its people back to the office.</li><li>He says <keyword id="1384155" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WFH">WFH</keyword> has only succeeded because of relationships established "pre-pandemic, face-to-face."</li><li>"The word 'company' is used to describe a business for a reason," he writes in this op-ed.</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul>Since the beginning of the pandemic, many have had no choice but to <keyword id="123591" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Work-from-home">work from home</keyword> as governments ordered lockdowns to combat COVID-19.But this was followed by a huge effort from the corporate world to promote home working as the model for the future, and that seemed pretty bonkers.It should have been clear that isolating staff from each other's energy was not going to be good for businesses or the mental health of their people. It's remarkable just how many business leaders were sucked in by the fable that video calls would replace the human interaction needed for a successful company to thrive.The UK's chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak pointed out recently, home working is no substitute for an office with "people riffing off each other." Expecting teams of people, isolated from each other at home, to generate the kind of creativity they were capable of when they could bounce ideas off each other was always a hare-brained notion. I think companies have only managed to get away with working from home this long because of the working relationships that were forged in the pre-pandemic, face-to-face days.I can only imagine how difficult it would be to get people who have never met to pull together to achieve a common business goal. The word "company" is used to describe a business for a reason.My company, Pimlico Plumbers, needed to develop safe ways for people to work together from the get go.Instead of changing systems and using technology to allow people to work apart, we thought about how we could use new and existing tools to keep our people working side-by-side. Our 300 plumbers had to continue providing a service the UK Government deemed essential. But we've also asked the 125 staff in our central London office to come in whenever restrictions in the UK have allowed them to do so.Facilitating this has been more common sense than rocket science. In the past 13 months, we've used literally tonnes of PPE, and gallons of sanitizer. We've worked on social distancing, and brought in fixed and portable thermal scanners and instant COVID tests, to keep people safe, and make them feel safe.They must pass through thermal scanners before being admitted to the building at the beginning of their shift. Anyone with a temperature above 37.8 degrees Celsius is not allowed in. Staff are also tested twice a week, and those who feel unwell at any time can request an additional one.All non-staff who wish to enter our HQ must first pass a COVID test, including those attending interviews.There are also 24 automatic sanitizer stations around the building, particularly in busy areas and near doors. We are lucky to have the space for all workstations to be at least two meters apart.In our call center, where staff operate a bit closer to each other, glass screens have been installed between each phone station.We have also paid office staff "lockdown bonuses" for their service during tough times, as well as providing them with free meals from the canteen, and parking, for those who wished to drive rather than use public transport.Staff morale is as good as it's ever been, and on the balance sheet, Pimlico has just had its best ever financial year, with sales up by 10% for the most recent financial year.After the pandemic, it will be business as usual for the most part. Customers, many of whom have had little contact with others, will continue to need reassuring that engineers working in their homes are following safety precautions. So mask-wearing, hand-washing, the use of shoe protectors, sanitizer and gloves will continue.But even this isn't a huge shift for us as hygiene has always been important in our often dirty business.Post-COVID, there will be some changes to the way some businesses operate but I think that the fundamental shift that many were so enthusiastically heralding will never come about.People need people, and screens don't count.Charlie Mullins is a British businessman, and the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, London's largest independent plumbing company.

Working from home isn't the future, it's bonkers. That's why my company asked people to keep coming to the office.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Top UK firms may make the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> mandatory for staff, the Financial Times reported.</li><li>Large <keyword id="22917" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Companies">companies</keyword> are considering contracts that require employees to get a shot when they're available, law firms said.</li><li>These companies include multinational businesses, the law firms said.</li></ul>Some top UK firms plan to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for staff through "no jab, no job" <keyword id="6355127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="employment">employment</keyword> contracts, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/965dfaf0-f070-4dae-93a6-28bedbdb75da?emailId=602caa0b888e36000431d25a&amp;segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f227f22">The Financial Times reported</a>.Law firms that declined to be named told the FT that businesses, ranging from care-home operators to big multinationals, were considering contracts that require new and current employees to get a vaccine as soon as it is offered to the UK's adult population.Pimlico Plumbers, which employs more than 400 people, announced in January a "no jab, no job" policy for new staff members. A spokesperson for the company told Insider that "vaccines are a way out and we have to use them as much as possible."Barchester Healthcare, which owns more than 200 care homes in the country, has said it won't hire new staff who refuse to get vaccinated on non-medical grounds, the FT reported."Our long-term ambition is that all patient and resident-facing staff will have the COVID-19 vaccine in order to protect both themselves and the vulnerable residents and patients in our care," a Barchester Healthcare spokesperson told Insider. "One option under consideration is that staff who refuse the vaccine on non-medical grounds will, by reason of their own decision, make themselves unavailable for work," they added.One City of London lawyer told the FT that numerous multinational companies, including one large energy group, were looking at the contract clauses.Another City lawyer said that introducing these clauses in contracts would be risky, because they could lead to discrimination claims.Nadhim Zahawi, the UK's vaccines minister, told the BBC Tuesday "it's up to businesses" whether they want staff to hold <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/immunity-passport-apps-covid-coronavirus-privacy-risks-ethical-pitfalls-data-2021-1">coronavirus vaccination passports</a> to prove they've had a shot. But he added that "we don't yet have the evidence of the effect of vaccines on transmission."The British government has previously said it has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-latest-uk-wont-issue-immunity-covid-19-passports-2021-2">no plans to introduce vaccine passports</a>, out of concern that they could lead to discrimination against people who can't, or won't, get the vaccine.Pimlico Plumbers CEO and founder Charlie Mullins said in a statement to Insider: "Some very clever people have worked really hard to give us a weapon that's our best way out of lockdown and back to something resembling <keyword id="6355515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="business">business</keyword> normality, we'd be fools not to use it in every way possible."In an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-requiring-employees-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-isnt-controversial-2021-2">op-ed for Insider</a> on February 5, Mullins said the vaccine passports would be a "fact of life" and would be "essential to access all sorts of services ... that puts large numbers of people in close proximity with each other."This issue isn't just confined to the UK. A West Monroe poll in January suggested that more than half of companies in the US would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-companies-will-require-a-vaccine-2021-1">require employees to receive the vaccine</a> before going back to work.

Big multinational firms are considering 'no jab, no job' contracts that make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for staff, according to a report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Charlie Mullins caused a stir when he suggested his company wouldn't hire anyone not vaccinated.</li><li>The Pimlico Plumbers CEO's comments were dismissed by the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> vaccines minister as "discriminatory."</li><li>In this op-ed, Mullins denies his view is controversial and predicts <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> passports will be a "fact of life."</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul>When the pandemic hit us, it felt like some far away disaster that you always read about had jumped out of the pages of a newspaper and into our westernized lives.War, plague, and natural calamities were supposed to be happening in far away places, not London, England.COVID-19 brought with it the kind of death and challenges the UK hadn't faced domestically since the end of the second world war. If any business people thought the pandemic sweeping across Europe was going to be the government's problem alone, we realized that we'd too be in a fight to survive.On March 23, 2020 UK prime minister Boris Johnson shut the country down, closing all but essential shops and businesses and confining the population to virtual house arrest except for those essential workers, emergency services, medics, supermarket workers, and pharmacists.My company, Pimlico Plumbers, employs more than 300 tradesmen and women who were classified as "essential workers."As an industry, we already use a lot of PPE to keep workers and customers safe, so initially it was a case of beefing up the usage of masks and disposable gloves, issuing guidance on hand washing, and equipping our vans with gallons of hand sanitizer.It was a strange time to keep working in formerly congested central city streets that suddenly looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie. From the way the death-toll was rising daily, we knew the world wasn't going back to normal soon. One thing was obvious; more safety measures were going to be needed for us to preserve our company's safety record. We brought in thermal scanners (portable guns and fixed units) to detect the early signs of infection in our staff, both those working in administration and the engineers going into customers' homes. At times it's felt like we were in an arms race with the virus, using anything we can find to keep it at bay while the a vaccine was created, tested, and made available.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-exec-quit-after-lockdown-spent-in-meditation-2020-7">This Google leadership exec quit after months spent meditating under lockdown: 'I could never go back to that lifestyle.'</a><div type="image" title="Charlie Mullins in call centre November, 2020" height="1666" width="2222" msid="80710689" hostid="261"></div>I did everything possible to keep the wheels turning, determined to keep my operation running safely and harmoniously.I'm very proud to say that since the beginning of the UK's first lockdown, we've completed more than 100,000 jobs without incident. I was also publicly vocal in trying to encourage the government whenever possible to allow businesses to reopen if they could prove they could do so safely.As a businessman I'm acutely aware that shutting down the economy is risky, even though the UK government has been paying workers <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-furlough-scheme-job-protection">80% of their salary</a> to stay at home. Getting things jumpstarted on the other side was always going to be difficult, and the longer the shutdown the harder it would be to bring some parts of the economy back to life. We're now into our third lockdown and the economy hasn't been fully operational for almost 11 months. There have been more than 800,000 redundancies, and with millions still being paid to stay off work there will inevitably be many more to come.Vaccines are here, but with more than 1,000 people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-covid-19-deaths-exceed-100000-among-worlds-worst-2021-1">dying on average from COVID</a> each day in the UK in the last few weeks, it hardly feels like the cavalry has arrived, even though the numbers are falling and the government is making a good fist of its vaccination program.I think the vaccine is the only road out of this hell we've been in for almost a year. It needs to be used in every possible area of life, especially business. <a href="https://www.cityam.com/exclusive-pimlico-plumbers-plots-no-jab-no-job-policy/">I recently made public </a>my views on how I would make being vaccinated a condition of employment for new staff, while strongly encouraging existing staff to take it up when it's available to them.In response, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9159925/Nadhim-Zahawi-brands-Pimlico-Plumbers-boss-Charlie-Mullins-discriminatory-Covid-jab-rule.html">the UK's vaccines minister called this "discriminatory" and said vaccines should be done "by persuasion"</a>. But I don't think what I said was very controversial - and, judging by my staff's reaction to the free <keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> testing program we have put in place, it seems they're with me on that.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccine-cargo-airline-logistics-winners-losers-2020-11">6 cargo airlines and freight operators poised to win big as COVID-19 vaccine shipping ramps up in 2021</a>Outside of the business there have been many who disagree, citing concerns over human rights issues. And then there's the insanity of the anti-vaxx lobby, who are vicious in their opposition to any business proposing to use vaccines to increase safety.I think vaccine passports will become a fact of life in the next 12 months. They will be essential to access all sorts of services, especially to gain entrance to hospitality businesses, bars, restaurants, travel services, and pretty much any pursuit that puts large numbers of people in close proximity with each other.Some airlines, basically flying restaurants with cinemas, will already not carry passengers without a recent negative COVID test <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-vaccine-test-passport-american-airlines-passengers-flying-into-us-2021-1">as required by the countries they're traveling to.</a>In the shorter term, I think it isn't enough to just prioritize the vulnerable and elderly when it comes to vaccinating entire societies. They definitely need to be immunized first, but so do essential occupations that come into contact with a lot of people, moving in and out of homes and workplaces.Emergency services and teachers, who are currently not on any UK priority list, are a good example. And yes, I think somewhere near the top are plumbers, carpenters, and electricians.There's been a lot of rubbish spoken about how COVID will change the way the business world operates in the years to come. I think that sentiment with its video conferencing and soulless isolation is possibly the worst thing about COVID, next to the horrific death toll of course.The thought that homeworking will be the "new normal" seems ridiculous to me. I suspect we've already bottled up a lot of mental illness in our societies without making solitude the norm. Humans are social creatures and thrive in cooperation.The word most often used to describe a commercial operation is "company" for a very good reason.Charlie Mullins is a British businessman, and the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, London's largest independent plumbing company.

Requiring my employees to get the coronavirus vaccine shouldn't be controversial. Soon, vaccine passports will become a fact of life.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Exclusive: A number of Liberal Democrat donors have deserted the party following the creation of the new anti-Brexit Independent Group of MPs.</li><li>Lib Dem sources say the party is struggling to finance national campaigns.</li><li>"A couple [of major donors] have moved and they are worried more will jump ship," insiders tell BI.</li><li>Other major donors are still "waiting" to judge the success of the new independent group.</li><li>The party is considering electoral pacts with TIG MPs, including former Labour MP Luciana Berger in Liverpool.</li></ul>LONDON - The Liberal Democrats are worried about a potential exodus of financial backers, after a number of donors withdrew their support to get behind the new anti-Brexit Independent Group of MPs.British <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> was rocked last week after eight MPs quit Labour and three left the Conservatives to join the grouping which backs a new Brexit referendum, or "People's Vote," and is dismayed by the leadership of their former parties.Following their departure, Charlie Mullins, the anti-Brexit owner of Pimlico Plumbers, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/donors-abandon-old-parties-to-back-breakaway-independent-group-bj7rcs5s0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed </a>that he intends to support TIG after previously donating £25,000 to the Sir Vince Cable-led Liberal Democrats in 2018.Multiple sources have told Business Insider that other major donors are either holding back funds from the Lib Dems, or have already walked away from the party to pump money into TIG. "A couple have moved and they are worried more will jump ship," one Lib Dem source told BI, while another well-placed Lib Dem figure said that the party's internal financial projections had taken a blow.Even before the recent launch of TIG, the Lib Dems had been suffering a hole in its finances, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/lib-dems-redundancies">leading to the party making some of its staff redundant towards the end of last year.</a>"The party has been struggling to get donors to fund national projects," one senior Lib Dem figure told BI."The begging bowl went out before Christmas and our targets just aren't being met."One Lib Dem insider insisted that most of the party's donors still "see a clear role for Lib Dems" and intended to stick with them as "they want to see Lib Dems at heart of whatever emerges."They also claimed that the party had enjoyed a mini-surge in new members over the last week. Another source said that the party's local donors were remaining behind the party for now, and added that some major donors were still "waiting" to see what the new Independent Group does nationally before switching sides.The TIG had a "convener" in Gavin Shuker MP at the time of writing, but no leader, manifesto, or official party status.The Lib Dems have also been buoyed by the lack of their own MPs walking out and joining TIG.However, Lib Dem sources said it was possible that some of their MPs could yet join the group, with the former coalition government minister Norman Lamb considered the most likely to jump ship.<h2>Lib Dems offer to 'work together' with TIG</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Others in the Lib Dems are considering forging a more formal alliance with the fledgling party, which could possibly come into play at the next general election.One senior Lib Dem source told BI that the party would be prepared to stand aside in seats which TIG MPs would have a better chance of winning, claiming "there are conversations to be had" about cross-party cooperation.Last week, the leader of the Lib Dems on Liverpool council, Richard Kemp, wrote to Independent Group MP Luciana Berger, signalling a possible electoral pact in her Wavertree seat."We would like to meet with you and chat openly and honestly about what we agree and disagree on and how we might work together in both campaigning and electoral terms to deliver what your grouping and the Liberal Democrats both desire," Kemp wrote to Berger.One senior Lib Dem figure told BI that the Liverpool Lib Dems were considering a possible pact with Berger, in which they would step aside at the next general election in exchange for Berger's supporters stepping aside in the upcoming local elections.The Independent Group has so far publicly rejected such attempts to combine forces, with member Chris Leslie <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8491438/independent-group-mps-rule-out-deal-with-lib-dems-and-say-they-aim-to-run-the-country/">insisting</a> that they should concentrate instead "creating something different" to existing political parties.However, a formal alliance could find favour with Liberal Democrat leader Cable, who has already talked about opening up the party to non-members, and allowing non-MPs be leader.One insider said that that Cable had "spent the past year or so talking to MPs with whom the party might share common ground."They added: "[Cable] was one of the few politicians who understood the potential for a seismic realignment and could see what opportunities and difficulties that could result in for the Lib Dems."Cable is in close contact with TIG members, particularly Leslie and Chuka Umunna MP. The three have worked together on the People's Vote campaign and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/politicians-britain-political-parties-are-in-secret-talks-about-forming-a-new-centrist-movement-brexit-2018-8?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were discussing a new "centrist" movement as early as last summer.</a>Cable has also said that the Lib Dems would be prepared to work with TIG in future elections."It would be foolish for my party and this Independent Group to fight with each other and compete with each other in elections. The first-past-the-post system means that we would damage each other very badly," <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dem-leader-sir-vince-cable-hints-at-electoral-pact-with-independent-group-a4072146.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said last week.</a>Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a>

Lib Dems fear exodus of donors as multiple backers switch to the Independent Group

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Leon Neal/Getty ImagesTIG members Anna Soubry and Chuka Umunna.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The new Independent Group of MPs has shaken British <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> to its core.</li><li>The party has had a dramatic effect on both the major parties with talk of further defections to come.</li><li>However, it remains dogged by charges of seeking to split the vote against the current government.</li><li>Here's how the group plans to become a major new force in Westminster.</li></ul>LONDON - The Independent Group (TIG) of 11 former Labour and Conservative MPs has already had a dramatic impact on British politics.In just a few short weeks, it has snatched 11 MPs from the two major parties, surged in the opinion polls, and arguably helped force a major shift in the Labour party's Brexit policy."Who knew you could have more influence on the Labour party by leaving it than staying in it?" one TIG MP said this week, reflecting on the two weeks since the group's dramatic launch. In the coming weeks, TIG is poised to recruit a number of additional defectors, as well as a series of big-name donors, as the group continues on its mission of becoming an official political party."We want to create a party... We have been really obvious about that," a TIG MP told journalists on Friday.The group, which wants to "change politics," admits it is still "catching its breath" and not ready to fight a general election any time soon. It doesn't plan to field candidates in any of the immediate local, mayoral or by-elections.However, it is focused on becoming a fully-functioning political party as quickly as possible. Here's how.<h2>TIG targets new MPs</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Henry NichollsJustine Greening MP.</div></div></div>The group does not yet have an official leader, and doesn't plan to elect one until it is a party, but this week appointed former Labour MP Chuka Umunna as its chief spokesperson and main figurehead.The other roles were assigned using a novel system of sticky post-it notes, with each MP pinning one to the sheet of paper with their preferred job written on it. Ex-Conservative MP Anna Soubry got the position of Brexit spokesperson, while her former Conservative colleague Sarah Wollaston will oversee recruitment.Wollaston is charged with delivering one of the group's immediate priorities - signing up more MPs.So far there has not been a flood of extra recruits following the first wave last month. The Labour party's decision to officially back a second referendum, as well as suspend a prominent MP accused of antisemitism, appears to have stemmed the tide of resignations from Labour for now.The party's deputy leader, Tom Watson, has also played a major role in convincing swathes of Labour MPs to stick around despite their reservations with leader Jeremy Corbyn and his handling of antisemitism within the party.However, further defections are expected soon. One former Labour shadow minister told BI on Friday that they planned to join TIG as soon as the Umunna-fronted group unveiled its first batch of policies.There is also fear among Conservative MPs that former-education secretary Justine Greening could be on the brink of following Soubry, Wollaston, and Heidi Allen out of the Tory party and into TIG.Greening has "softened" after being persuaded by friends in Theresa May's Cabinet and is set to stay - for now."The one who I was really worried about, and I know Amber [Rudd, Work &amp; Pensions Secretary] has reached out to since, was Justine but she seems to have softened," a well-placed sourced in the party's moderate wing told BI.<h2>Who is funding it?</h2>With the prospect of an imminent general election looming, the group is keen to raise the hundreds of thousands of pounds it needs to become a political party capable of running a nationwide campaign.It has received "several thousand" donations from members of the public since its inception, one of its MPs claimed this week. They added that most donations were less than £500, and not in the "big grand donor" territory.However, wealthy backers are beginning to gather behind TIG. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liberal-democrat-donors-switch-anti-brexit-independent-group-mps-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BI reported this week</a> that a number of donors have left the Liberal Democrats to get behind TIG. Pimlico Plumbers owner Charlie Mullins is one of them.Julian Dunkerton - the co-founder of clothing range Superdry <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/18/julian-dunkerton-superdry-founder-gives-1-million-pounds-peoples-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who donated one million pounds to the People's Vote campaign in August</a> - is also weighing up becoming a financial backer, sources in to the anti-Brexit campaign said.Dunkerton has not responded to BI's request for comment.TIG MPs reassured journalists this week that the group's donations financial activity would be published on a quarterly basis, in accordance with Electoral Commission rules followed by UK political parties. <h2>"No pacts, no alliances"</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GettyLib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable flanked by TIG members Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry plus Green MP Caroline Lucas.</div></div></div>TIG insists that it does not want to form an alliance the existing pro-EU Liberal Democrat party.A TIG MP said on Friday there would be "no pacts, no alliances" with the Lib Dems amid suggestions from people <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dem-leader-sir-vince-cable-hints-at-electoral-pact-with-independent-group-a4072146.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable </a>that the two could work together in certain seats at the next election.Another of the group's MPs agreed, telling BI that the Lib Dems have issues which they need to confront, particularly lasting damage to the party's brand as a result of its time in coalition government with the Conservatives. "Our firm view is that the political system is broken and although the Lib Dems haven't got ideologically extreme issues going on in their party, they have got their own problems," they said. They added that Lib Dem MPs and supporters have already signaled that they could quit to join TIG."Our anecdotal experience is that a lot of Lib Dem perspective candidates are hesitating before putting themselves forward for this time around [the next general election]," they said."They want to be part of a bigger project which they see as providing a bigger platform and a lot of their activists and supporters appear to be coming our way.""On an individual basis, Lib Dems both in Parliament and beyond... may not feel like they're fleeing a burning platform, but they have to look at what's needed for providing the country an offer from the centre-ground."Lib Dem sources told BI that some of the party's existing MPs are being watched as potential defectors, with the former Coalition government minister Norman Lamb identified as the most likely to jump ship.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">John Stillwell/PA Images via Getty ImagesTIG members.</div></div></div><h2>The odds are stacked against it</h2>Perhaps the biggest obstacle in front of TIG is the UK electoral system, which puts parties other than Conservatives and Labour at an disadvantage which many people see as unfair. This is particularly the case for new parties.The new grouping cannot avoid comparisons with the Social Democrat Party breakaway of the 1980s, which won just six seats in the 1983 general election despite receiving over 11% of the national vote.The SDP is blamed, rightly or wrongly, for splitting the vote and ensuring the then Conservative government remained in power. Similar charges are now being made against TIG, following a series of opinions polls suggesting it could severely damage Labour's chances of winning the next general election.Comments by members of the group that they would refuse to back a vote of no confidence in the current government have only fueled those charges.TIG MPs this week dismissed parallels with the SDP.They claimed that the "class-based politics" of that era was not relevant to contemporary political culture, nor the "left-right" spectrum which people have for decades relied on to analyse voting behaviour in the UK.They also argued that TIG was a coming together of different political traditions, rather than simply "Labour 2.0."Nevertheless, the odds are stacked against TIG, and the group's decisions over the next few weeks could go a long way to determining its long term success. What is clear is that the group has shaken British politics to its core. The other major parties are waiting nervously to see what it will do next.Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-declare-national-emergency-what-happens-2019-2">What happens when the president declares a national emergency</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "pimlico plumbers" and got 5 results

Working from home isn't the future, it's bonkers. That's why my company asked people to keep coming to the office.

Charlie Mullins

Big multinational firms are considering 'no jab, no job' contracts that make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for staff, according to a report

Kate Duffy

Requiring my employees to get the coronavirus vaccine shouldn't be controversial. Soon, vaccine passports will become a fact of life.

Charlie Mullins

Lib Dems fear exodus of donors as multiple backers switch to the Independent Group

Adam Payne,Adam Payne,Adam Bi…

How a small group of former Labour and Conservative MPs dramatically changed British politics

Adam Payne,Adam Payne,Adam Bi…

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