Hastings Borough Council: Leader and five other councillors quit Labour

Council leader Paul Barnett was among those who resigned

The leader of Hastings Borough Council, and five other councillors, have resigned from the Labour Party and set up an independent group.

They said the party no longer provided the "policies, support or focus on local government" they needed.

A Labour spokesman said the councillors' "performative gesture politics has driven the council to the brink of bankruptcy".

Council officers have previously warned that the authority faces bankruptcy.

Along with leader Paul Barnett, the other councillors to leave the party are: Maya Evans, Andy Batsford, John Cannan, Ali Roark and Simon Willis.

Conservative group leader Andy Patmore said: "The council is facing bankruptcy and it seems these councillors are not willing to take responsibility for their actions.

"Their residents and the town deserve better. They should all resign their council seats so that by-elections can be held in their wards and new representatives can be elected." 

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, Mr Batsford said: "People don't have to step down when they change a party".

Mr Batsford said in local elections the public "vote for people who work hard in their communities."

The councillors added in a statement: "Standing up for Hastings, and especially for our residents, will be much easier as independents" and they would continue their work in the area.

A Labour spokesman said under Keir Starmer's leadership the party had changed "fundamentally".

"The fact that these councillors, all holdouts from the previous regime, no longer feel the Labour Party is their home is conclusive proof of that," they added.

Hastings Borough Council declined to comment.

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