A Labour councillor has resigned from the party but will continue to sit as an independent on Brighton and Hove City Council.
Councillor Peter Atkinson resigned from the Labour Party on Friday (13 August) after a colleague who shared anti-semitic material on Facebook was readmitted to the party.
Councillor Atkinson sits for North Portslade ward on the council which is also represented by Councillor Anne Pissaridou.
She was suspended from the party in July last year over two anti-semitic Facebook posts while two other former Labour councillors – Nikkie Brennan and Kate Knight – resigned from the party when similar claims of anti-semitic activity came to light and both now sit as independents.
As a result, the Greens became the largest group and took over the political leadership of the council.
The resignation of Councillor Atkinson follows the lifting of Councillor Pissaridou’s suspension by the Labour Party nationally.
She also sits as an independent, with Brighton and Hove Labour councillors locally having written to council chief executive Geoff Raw to say that they did not want her in their group.
The party has been at pains to try to mend fences with the Jewish community locally and the three synagogues in the Hove parliamentary constituency.
Councillor Atkinson said: “The Labour Party and Keir Starmer have actually dealt with the problem of anti-semitism in the party very robustly on the whole.
“Councillor Pissaridou was only temporarily suspended, however. I can’t change that decision but I can take a decision of my own not to share a political space with her in the same ward.”
Councillor Atkinson was first elected to North Portslade in 2015 with a small majority of 98 votes over the nearest Conservative candidate.
In 2019 he increased his majority to almost 900, winning 55 per cent of the vote.
Councillor Atkinson added: “This is a truly sad and significant decision for me as I have been a Labour Party member for over 40 years, almost all of my adult life. I cannot, however, just sit back and accept what has happened.
“Racism of any sort, including anti-semitism, is unacceptable. This is no reflection on the Labour group, though. They have been vigorous in ensuring that there is no place for anti-semitism within their ranks.”
Councillor Atkinson will now serve as an independent councillor until the next local elections in 2023.
He said: “I am committed to carrying on working for the residents of Mile Oak and North Portslade both on individual casework and community issues such as anti-social behaviour and the provision of local services.”
Gold standard councilor, and hopefully he will remain on as an independent for North Portslade at the next Election. Anne Pissaridou needs to be deselected for the next election, an awful ward councilor and residents will not forgive her for putting in the OSR Cycle lane.
This so-called and ill-fated “Corbyn Council” led by Platts, selected by Momentum and orchestrated by Hadfield and his mates, has been a complete disaster.
The Labour group needs a big clear out of the “loony left” so the mainstream Labour Councillors can take charge again.
A labour member with principles and morals. What a pity there aren’t more like him.
Call me a geek if you will, but presumably cllr Atkinson has kept a record of those residents who voted for him. A curious aspect of Local Elections is that Independent candidates are not entitled to a copy of the Electoral Roll to carry from door to door. The 2023 Local Election is imminent, and set to be very interesting in Hove and Rottingdean (and smart money could be on South Portslade to which many have recently moved).
Christopher Hawtree I still have not forgotten the “racism” from you. yet you want to preach to others
It helps to avoid being short sighted in politics.
‘All we like sheep have gone astray;’
Isaiah 56;3
Bad company ruins good morals.
I Corinthians 15:33
Luke 23:21
but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”
Labour has lost a coucillor who works hard, conscientiously represents his ward and the people who live there and has been loyal to a party that has – to adapt the quote from a previous reply – like sheep gone astray. I can only imagine he must have agonised before ending such a long association.
Incidentally, Isaiah was Jewish, so according to the anti-Semites in Labour is presumably someone they can be racist about.
good geeking, christopher: there is a lot of Electoral Lore behind the opacity