Resignations EXPLODE As Labour Exodus Continues!

Right, so with the Spring Statement still to come at time of writing, it seems the growing exodus of councillors from what passes for Starmer’s alleged Labour Party, Labour in name only party is only continuing to grow and with that statement likely to be one of the most destructive financial packages for ordinary working class people in this country, more will likely follow, not boding well for May’s Local Elections.
Where Labour under Corbyn was once the standard-bearer for progressive politics in Britain, it is facing an unprecedented internal revolt as they become ever more regressive and right wing than the Tories n their political choices, aping the hard right Reform as they chase their votes and Labour’s base, including their elected representatives are deserting.
Over the past week, a wave of resignations by Labour councillors across the country, but most notably in Dudley, as I covered in a video the other day has exposed deep disillusionment with Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ rightward shift, particularly their embrace of austerity policies and ardent and unforgivable refusal to tax wealth, instead opting to tax work and clobber the elderly, disabled and children instead.
These resignations are now proving to very much not be isolated incidents but part of a growing pattern of dissent, as local representatives refuse to prop up a leadership that increasingly mirrors the Conservative Party in both policy and ideology. It seems some in Labour at least have ethics and morals and above all a spine, it’s just a case that none of that forms part of Starmer’s government.
Right, so Labour councillors are continuing to desert the party, the most dramatic exodus as I have covered already has come from Dudley Council, where four Labour councillors resigned, including the Labour group leader, Peter Lowe. It was Cllr Karl Denning who said the other day that he expected one or two more on the council to quit and so it has come to pass, that Cllr Luke Hamblett has walked too, bringing the total number of Labour Councillors to have quit Labour in the last week, in an area considered a heartland for the Labour right, to five, and whose departure brings the total number of Labour councillors to have quit in Dudley over the past year to nine. Hamblett’s reasons for going echo those of the others who have gone this week:
‘Cllr Hamblett cited concerns about removing winter fuel payments, raising National Insurance contributions for employers and the two-child benefit cap as reasons for his resignation, saying “enough is enough”.
He said: “With dismay at first and then disgust, I watched as a Labour government kept the two-child benefit cap, removed winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners and are now targeting people with disabilities.”
Cllr Hamblett also accused the party of “getting it wrong with the economy”, adding that as an accountant himself, he “can already see the devastating impact which the National Insurance rise will have on small to medium-sized businesses” in the borough.
He also accused the Dudley Labour Group of being “rudderless and afraid to speak out” locally.’
As a Councillor myself, it is one thing to resign over the aforementioned reasons Hamblett has, but that last swipe at his own former colleagues shows equal disgust at their own cowardice and refusal to take a stand and local electors should be aware of that going forwards.
Instead of advocating for wealth taxes or closing tax loopholes for the super-rich, Starmer and Reeves have opted for more brutal austerity, leaving the most vulnerable to bear the brunt in what they call tough choices, but it is never a tough choice to punch down on the weakest and most vulnerable, it is always the easiest and we should remember that, because we’ll never hear it repeated by the mainstream media.
But Dudley is not alone. The same principled stand has been taken by councillors across England this week and the list is growing.
Another example is David Sheppard from Rotherham Borough Council, a Labour run council, Sheppard being the Council Deputy Leader, a senior cabinet position, but one he has found to be completely untenable as a result of these cuts and has quit both his post and the party. He said:
‘“Due to the recent announcement by the Labour government regarding welfare reform, I have taken the decision to leave the party which has been my home all my life.
“To me, it is unconscionable that when faced with the financial crisis left to us by the previous Tory government, the Labour Party has chosen to target people who need support the most.
“I have always held the belief that Government should do what it can to equalise the injustices within society.
“Sadly, this and other recent announcements have led me to conclude that this is currently not the case.
“I leave my role as Deputy Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and cabinet member for Social Inclusion and Neighbourhoods with a heavy heart.’
Also having left the party has been Salford Councillor of 34 years John Warmisham, branding his now former party immoral.
Manchester Evening News covered this story and reported that:
‘A highly respected veteran councillor has quit the Labour Party accusing it of "losing its moral compass" under the leadership of Keir Starmer. John Warmisham, who has been a Salford councillor for 34 years resigned his membership last night.
His decision will be a major blow to the local party as well as an embarrassment for the national one. In a letter to Salford's City Mayor, Paul Dennett, explaining his decision his says: "I feel I have no option but to resign from the Labour Party, a party that through this current national leadership has lost its moral compass and no longer represents the communities that it was set up to serve."…
…In his letter to Mr Dennett, he adds: "Cutting the welfare benefits to the disabled, the sick, the poor and the vulnerable, whilst committing billions of pounds to arms and supporting wars is immoral, as well as government ministers pushing pensioners, families and children further into poverty.’
Another that has gone has been Mike Hawkins of Cumberland Council, who has slammed Starmer’s leadership as “indistinguishable from the Tories” before resigning, a statement he issued reading:
‘"Today I have resigned my Labour Party membership. Everyone has their limit.
Unfortunately, and it is with great sadness and regret, that the hard right Labour leadership has finally pushed me to mine, with its decision, announced formally today, to target the most vulnerable in our society with devastating cuts to support for sick and disabled people.
This Tory-style 'Labour' government under Starmer, Streeting and Reeves are forcing more Tory-Reform style cuts and austerity onto our already struggling country.
Under Starmer, Streeting and Reeves, Labour has been forced to move so far away from traditional Labour values, that even for me, a centrist in the Labour Party, who has been a Labour member since John Smith and a Labour councillor since Gordon Brown, I no longer feel welcome.’
He is now the second Labour councillor on Cumberland Council to quit, another having done so for very similar reasons back at the end of January, so is this part of a growing trend?
You have to appreciate and I got a bit of stick for this on my other video about he other Dudley resignations, that for a councillor quitting to even make the news, its generally someone of some local renown, someone who is well known, you have to appreciate how many around the country may be quitting that don’t make the newspapers, when so many notable are.
One more resignation I want to bring up though is that of suspended Labour Lewisham councillor Hau-Yu Tam, who has now quit Labour and defected to the Greens. Why was she suspended? She dared speak out for the people of Palestine, she dared support a protest against her own party’s stance on Palestine. That’s a suspension offence in Starmer’s authoritarian regime. She sat as an independent but has now reached the point where she’d rather join a party that lets her have an opinion and doesn’t punish her for that and by doing so, gives the Greens their first councillor on Lewisham Borough Council and becomes the sum total of the opposition – Labour held every single seat.
Tam said:
‘“I’m very excited. Since leaving Labour, it has been a whole journey with lots of different emotions. But I’ve found a lot of peace with this decision and I feel very happy today to be joining the Greens. Their policies and manifesto align a lot more closely with my values, [and] my beliefs.
“I was an anti-racism campaigner when I was elected [for Labour] back in 2022. I was elected on a manifesto that was progressive on paper. But when you get down to it, the Labour Party have sold out so many of their principles.’
Well far be it from me to not stoke my own bias here as a Green Party councillor, who came to the Greens from Labour as well, but I completely agree with that.
The common thread in these resignations is betrayal. Labour was founded to represent the working class, yet under Starmer, it has embraced fiscal conservatism, welfare cuts, and tax policies that favour the wealthy and we will see more of that in the Spring Statement.
The councillors resigning are not fringe figures; many are long-serving representatives with deep roots in their communities, as I said, they wouldn’t be making the press if not for some significant interest in their departures. Their departures signal that Labour’s shift is not just unpopular with activists but with those actually delivering local services. When councillors like Warmisham and Sheppard—who have spent decades fighting for Labour values—walk away, it suggests a party that has very much lost its moral compass and everything it ever stood for.
With the Spring Statement still to come at time of writing, there are fears that further austerity measures—whether from the Tories or tacitly accepted by Labour—could trigger even more resignations. If Starmer and Reeves continue to rule out wealth taxes while endorsing cuts to public services, how many more Labour representatives will decide they can no longer stay? I’m expecting many more in the days to come as the ramifications of the Spring Statement are digested.
The danger for Labour is that these resignations embolden alternatives. The Greens, independents, and other left-wing breakaway groups cand and will capitalise on this discontent because that is now the path of progressive politics. It is no good being tribal and sticking with Labour, still clinging to hope there will be change, because it is obvious there won’t be any.
In councils where Labour holds slim majorities, defections and certainly the upcoming local elections could cost them control, undermining Starmer’s claim that Labour is the only viable alternative to the Tories, as if him turning Labour into the Tories wasn’t obvious enough.
For those who believe in progressive politics, the question now is: Do you stay and fight, which surely must be obvious now to be a waste of time, or leave and be part of something new and progressive once again? Seems like a no brainer to me. If elected officials are seeing the light, why can’t you?
For more on the situation in Dudley particularly, a signpost to catastrophe for Starmer and Co as that is, do check out this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe if you haven’t done so already, so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content as well as supporting the channel which is very much appreciated and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.