Labour councillor quits party saying ‘backbenchers are treated as voting fodder’ by leaders
18.02.2022 - 16:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A Bolton Labour councillor who quit the party during a council meeting says ‘backbenchers are treated as voting fodder’ by local leaders.
Coun Shamim Abdullah, who has represented the Rumworth ward in central Bolton since 2016, claims key decisions are made ‘without consultation’ with ward councillors.
Her resignation came after a disagreement with the opposition group’s leaders about plans for a new secondary school in the Rumworth area which could be built at Haslam Park.
On Thursday, Labour leader Nick Peel said Coun Abdullah had been ‘included in all discussions about our plans to save the park and never indicated that she was against them’.
He added that ‘the Labour group is actually in a more cohesive and united position that it has been in for a long time’.
Coun Abdullah’s resignation was revealed to shocked members by Conservative leader Martyn Cox during the annual council budget debate on Wednesday evening.
In a statement sent to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Abdullah, said: “I can confirm that as of Wednesday evening I resigned as a councillor of Bolton Labour group.
“I communicated my decision to the borough solicitor, the leader of the council and the chief whip of the Bolton Labour group.
“There are a number of reasons why I felt compelled to leave but my main reason for doing so is the manner in which decisions are consistently made by the Labour leadership without consultation with the ward councillors on key decisions affecting their ward.
“There is little democracy when backbenchers are treated as voting fodder for the leadership group.
“Contrary to what Coun Nick Peel has stated, I can confirm that the Rumworth councillors and Labour group members were not consulted on the final wording