The Hull Labour Group are ‘deeply saddened by the resignation’
A Labour Party councillor at Hull City Council has announced he has left the party and will continue as an Independent. The councillor has said he believes Sir Keir Starmer’s party “is no longer working towards the social change this country desperately needs.”
Cllr Peter North, who represents the Bricknell ward in the council has become the latest councillor to become independent, following in the footsteps of Cllr Hester Bridges who made the same move in May. Similarly, two Liberal Democrat councillors defected to become Independents earlier in the year.
“Recently, my membership of the party has survived because of the belief I have in Hull’s Labour Councillors to fight for our city,” he said in a statement. “I still firmly believe that they are much better equipped to lead Hull than the Liberal Democrat administration, that belief is no longer enough to balance my lack of faith in this Labour Government.
“In the run up to the General Election last year, I still had hope that despite my lack of enthusiasm for the rhetoric of the Parliamentary Labour Party, once elected they would start to deliver and show working class people of the United Kingdom that there are politicians who are on their side. I hoped for leadership focused on improving living standards for working class people, committed to properly investing in public services and determined to reverse the damage done by austerity using a fairer taxation system.
“None of this has come to pass, and increasingly we’re seeing people who are feeling the effects of austerity turning to duplicitous far-right politicians for quick and easy answers to the hardships they face by demonising minorities and stoking anger. Labour’s attempts to neuter the rise of the far-right through talk of “smashing the gangs” and “stopping the boats” has only served to draw focus to the hatred they promote and is creating a Britain of mistrust, anger and division.”
In a statement the Hull Labour Group said they are “deeply saddened by the resignation of Councillor Peter North from the Labour Party.” Adding: “Peter has been an extremely hard-working councillor, leading from the front, driving positive change in his ward, and making a significant contribution to the work of the Labour Group as a whole. His decision to resign is not a reflection of his relationship with colleagues locally, where there are no issues but rather with the leadership of the national Labour Party.”
“We look forward to continuing to work constructively with Peter across the benches during the remainder of his term. Meanwhile, the Hull Labour Group remains focused on delivering for the people of Hull. Under the current Liberal Democrat administration, residents are facing stalled projects and a lack of accountability.
“The failure to reopen Chapman Street Bridge for five years, alongside delays to other major projects, is a direct result of an administration that is unwilling to act, lacking in values, and operating only as an opportunistic political machine. Labour in Hull will continue to prioritise the needs of our city and hold the Liberal Democrats to account.”
The leader of Hull City Council, the Liberal Democrats’ Cllr Mike Ross has reacted to the defection, saying: “It is clear more and more councillors and supporters are deserting Labour, and there’s no surprise the public is doing the same. Here in Hull, the Lib Dems are the real alternative and we’re fighting for a fair deal for local people every day.”
The defection of Cllr North’s has altered the political weighting of Hull City Council. The party figures are now as follows:
- Liberal Democrat: 29
- Labour Party: 23
- Independent: 5
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