Hull Labour councillor Julia Conner defects to Liberal Democrats

Hull Councillor Julia Conner was a Labour councillor for 11 years

A Labour councillor has defected to the Liberal Democrats, leaving it with a single-seat majority as local elections loom.

Julia Conner left Hull City Council's Labour group after 11 years, saying she could no longer remain a member under its current leadership.

The Liberal Democrats welcomed the councillor's move and said it left May's local elections on a knife edge.

Labour has called on Ms Conner to stand down and trigger a by-election.

Her defection leaves Labour, which has held a majority in Hull since 2011, with 29 councillors out of a total of 57, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a letter announcing her move, Ms Conner wrote: "Labour have taken Hull for granted for too long.

"I am excited and delighted to be joining a team that is ready to take this Labour council to task over the issues that matter to us in our area as well as the city."

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Liberal Democrat Mike Ross said Ms Conner would be a competent member of his group, which took two seats off Labour in last year's May local elections.

A Labour spokesperson said: "When interviewed, councillor Conner made comment that she had concerns about 'democracy' and 'consultation', things she has never raised while being a Labour councillor for 10 years."

Following on from their call for her to stand down, Labour wished the Liberal Democrats "all the best with their new councillor".

John Fareham, the city's lone Conservative councillor, tweeted that the move showed things were bad for Labour and had come after a "lurch to the left".

Ms Conner, who is chair of the council's Finance Scrutiny Committee, first entered The Guildhall in May 2011 and worked for the housing department for 20 years.