‘They did it out of desperation’ – David Owen on the Independent Group, May’s failure and why he stands by Brexit

The leave-supporting veteran politician and SDP founder is as outspoken about the prime minister as he is about the EU, Cameron and Corbyn. But he also harbours surprising hopes for Labour, the party he deserted

David Owen’s claim to be a visionary is lodged even before he opens his front door. He lives in Limehouse – in the same house where he and his fellow Labour rebels formed the breakaway Social Democratic party (SDP) in 1981, issuing the Limehouse declaration, which would change the course of British politics. It is in a part of east London that was derelict when Owen bought a burnt-out old cafe and the rooms above it for £3,000 in 1965. He was a young doctor at St Thomas’s hospital back then and this corner of Docklands was ready for the bulldozers.

But Owen saw the potential and, my word, was he right. Now the house is all but a London landmark – the day we meet, I spot a tour guide stopping to point it out – with Ian McKellen living next door and stunning views directly on to the river Thames, the water no more than a yard away from the windows.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TiDFgF