Hastings councillors leave labour to form an independent group

They include the leader and deputy leader of the party. All are Cabinet members.

The councillors are: Paul Barnett, leader of the council; Maya Evans, deputy leader of the council; Andy Batsford, Cabinet member; John Cannan, Cabinet member; Ali Roark, cabinet member; and Simon Willis, cabinet member. They are now calling themselves ‘Hastings Independents’.

The move was slammed by the Labour Party which described it as 'performative gesture politics’ and accused the six of ‘driving the council to the brink of bankruptcy’.

A statement released by the new Hastings Independents group said: “After long and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision today to leave the Labour Party and become independent councillors. There are many reasons, but our view is that standing up for Hastings, and especially for our residents, will be much easier as independents.

“The national Labour Party no longer provides us with the policies, the support or the focus on local government that we need given the many local issues we are committed to tackling.

“We will now concentrate on standing up for Hastings, to work in partnership with all those who are passionate to drive our town forward, and our work in our communities, which is why we all became councillors. As a group, we will not be making any further comment until the New Year.”

Their resignation from the party follows Labour councillors quitting the party at Norwich, Oxford and Burnley recently.

Council leader Paul Barnett said: “There are many reasons, but for me, I just want to be able to speak out for Hastings without being told what to think, say or do by people in London.”

Cllr Maya Evans, in her Labour Party resignation statement, said: “Over the last few years, it has become increasingly apparent that the Labour Party has moved away from many of its core values and principles. To woo the Tory vote the Labour Party has lost its way, leaning into right wing policies and rhetoric which has become increasingly difficult to publicly justify and support.

“Locally we have been micromanaged by Westminster centric unelected Labour Party officials who have barely visited Hastings let alone understand the town and its residents. The national Labour Party has denied Hastings’ members the right to select their own parliamentary candidate and selection of councillors.”

She also cited Labour’s policy position on not supporting a ceasefire in Gaza as one of the reasons.

Cllr Batsford said: “The Labour Party no longer represent my core beliefs of equality, fairness and local based transparency. It’s time for a Hastings voice, strong, transparent and proud.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “With Keir Starmer as Leader, the Labour Party has 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.

“Their performative gesture politics has driven the council to the brink of bankruptcy and as a result they had effectively been placed in special measures. We call upon them now to do the honourable thing and step down immediately, and allow the hardworking people of Hastings the chance to elect councillors who will put Hastings first.”

Guy Harris, parliamentary spokesman for Hastings and Rye Lib Dems, said: “This disunity and division, seemingly a response to Sir Kier Starmer’s authoritarian leadership, comes at exactly the wrong time for the people of Hastings. When many of us are desperate to banish the Conservatives from our town and our constituency, the division and disunity at the heart of Labour threatens to throw the Conservative Party an undeserved lifeline in the run up to a watershed general election. Real change requires committed, coherent and credible opposition to hard right Conservatism, and local Lib Dems are united in that purpose.”

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