20 Labour councillors from Broxtowe Borough Council resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s party on Wednesday, declaring they “can no longer be in a party that has abandoned traditional Labour values.”
The mass resignation, led by council leader Milan Radulovic, a party member of more than 40 years, has cost Labour control of the Broxtowe council in Nottinghamshire, which it had won in 2023.
“I cannot support and will not support another centrist government intent on destroying local democracy and dictating national policy from a high pedestal,” Radulovic said.
Radulovic specifically opposed plans to scrap district and borough councils, saying “the concentration of power in the hands of fewer people and the abolition of local democracy through the current proposals of super councils is nothing short of a dictatorship.”
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The group claimed 10 councillors were blocked from standing in upcoming Nottinghamshire County Council elections after criticizing winter fuel policy changes affecting 11 million pensioners. Labour maintains the selection process followed standard procedures.
The defections follow earlier tensions in Broxtowe, where the constituency Labour Party’s executive committee resigned in 2023 over candidate selection disputes. The councillors alleged that 100 local grassroots members have also left the party.
However, former Conservative MP Anna Soubry defended Labour, saying the departing councillors “never supported Starmer” and had treated their party’s parliamentary candidate poorly since her selection.
The resignations come amid broader challenges for Labour, with a recent YouGov poll showing only 12% of voters viewing the party as successful, describing it as “incompetent” and “dishonest.”
Remaining Labour councillors called the defections “incredibly disappointing” and pledged to continue their work with MPs Juliet Campbell and Alex Norris to “make Broxtowe a healthier, greener, safer and more prosperous place.”
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