LONDON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Political academics gave their first reactions to the creation of a new mixed-party alliance in Britain's House of Commons on Wednesday.

The big question now is whether the fledgling Independent Group of MPs, now 11 strong, can grow into a new British centrist party that can challenge the political stranglehold dominated for more than a century by the two big rivals, Conservatives and Labor.

RESIGNATION

Earlier this week eight Labor MPs quit to establish the new group, only to be joined by three pro-EU MPs from the governing Conservative Party. The three said the final straw for them had been the government's disastrous handling of Brexit.

It is the biggest upset in British politics since a so-called Gang of Four nationally known politicians quit Labor to form the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP).

The 11 founder members of the Independent Group have resisted calls to resign from their parliamentary seats to seek re-election in their constituencies under their new "colors".

Under British electoral laws they can switch sides and remain to serve as MPs until the next general election, due in 2022.

The way Britain's planned departure has been handled by Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn has been blamed for the resignations.

The former Labor MPs are also furious with Corbyn saying he has failed to resolve a problem of anti-racism within Labor.

Prime Minister May expressed disappointed at the departure of three of her MPs before heading to Brussels for new talks about Brexit with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

The 11 rebel MPs want the British government to rule out leaving the EU on a no-deal basis, and they are also pressing for a People's Vote, effectively a second national referendum on EU membership.

GAME CHANGER

The breakaway independent group of launched by the group of BMPs could be a gamechanger, political expert Professor Anthony Glees from the University of Buckingham told Xinhua.

Glees, Director of the Center for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS) at the University of Buckingham, told Xinhua: "British politics is ensnared in a deep existential crisis at the moment and no one can properly predict how, or if, we will emerge from it with our stability and our economy in tact."

He added: "My feeling is that this new grouping could be a game changer, and could be as momentous as the formation of the SDP 40 years ago."

Glees said everything depends on how the new group develops, in particular whether there is mass support for them among Labor voters, and whether the three recruits from the Conservatives, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston, try to do a similar thing in relation to their party.

"If Labor is weakened, as we now expect it to be, the immediate result will be to strengthen the Conservatives, and in particular to boost the confidence of the European Research Group of MPs, the Hard Brexiter wing of the Conservative Party," he added.

"That is because they didn't think Corbyn could win a general election in any case, but with a party split underway, he's even less likely to make 10 Downing Street," said Glees.

He also predicted that a so-called 'people's vote' to determine Britain's future in the EU, is now further off, not closer.

The dramatic developments at Westminster, said Glees will focus the minds of the Remain and soft-Brexit Conservatives, which explains the breakaway by the three from the Conservative ranks as well.

The real test for the group will be whether more disaffected MPs join the so-called Gang of 11, and what happens when May puts her Brexit deal once more to the House of Commons on or before Feb. 27.

Media reports in London Wednesday speculated that May could bring forward a parliamentary vote on her deal after claims that a number of her ministers were poised to resign.

"If the new grouping fizzles out the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU on March 29 becomes even more likely," Glees predicted." Enditem

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