Councillors resign over Abbott row and Gaza

Diane Abbott has only recently been told she can stand as a Labour candidate

Seven councillors have resigned from the Labour Party over the treatment of Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen, the party's position on Gaza, and comments by the local MP.

The councillors at Slough Borough Council said arguments over whether the pair could stand for election highlighted "institutional racism" in Labour.

Ms Shaheen was blocked from standing as Labour’s candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green, north London, over historical posts on social media, whilst Ms Abbott was only recently told she would be allowed to stand again after her recent suspension from Labour.

A spokesperson for Labour said: "We are focussed on electing a Labour government and delivering the change that people in Slough and across the country need."

Councillors Zaffar Ajaib, Sabia Akram, Haqeeq Dar, Mohammed Nazir, Naveeda Qaseem, Waqas Sabah and Jamilia Sabah were all named a statement announcing their resignation late on Monday.

In the statement, the councillors said they felt they had "no option but to resign".

"We must stay true to our values and conscience, even if the party we once believed in has abandoned them," the statement read.

The councillors also made several references to Labour’s position on the war in Gaza – and its reluctance to back motions in parliament calling for a ceasefire.

And they criticised Slough's current MP Tan Dhesi for accusing an independent candidate, Azhar Chohan, of "toxifying" the town.

The councillors said Tan Dhesi had "doubled down his efforts to stoke division between two religious groups"

Mr Chohan - himself a former Labour Party member - cited support for Palestine among his campaign pledges, and has the backing of an organisation called Muslim Vote.

But in a statement highlighting that, Mr Dhesi warned people not to be "duped" by people "asking one faith community in particular to vote in a block".

The resignation statement suggested the councillors would stay on Slough Borough Council as independents.

Tan Dhesi told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had spent the weekend canvassing alongside some of the resigning councillors, and said they had not raised their concerns with him then.

He said: “It’s very strange that some of them were out canvassing with me recently, including over the last two days and didn’t raise any such grievances.”