‘A Britain of anger and division’: Labour councillor quits party over Government response to far-right

RESIGNATION: Councillor Peter North

EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Bristow and Angus Young

A city councillor has quit the Labour Party after criticising the Government’s response to the far-right.

Bricknell ward Councillor Peter North becomes the second Hull Labour councillor to leave the party this year in protest over Government policy following the resignation of Councillor Hester Bridges in May.

In a statement to The Hull Story, Coun North said: “Labour’s attempts to neuter the rise of the far-right through talk of ‘smashing the gangs’ and ‘stopping the boats’ has only served to draw focus to the hatred they promote and is creating a Britain of mistrust, anger and division.

“I’ve resigned my membership of the Labour Party and will continue in my role as councillor for Bricknell as an independent.”

Coun North stressed his dissatisfaction was with the national party and not his former colleagues in the Hull Labour group, whom he said he still holds in “very high regard”.

He will sit as an independent but will not join the Independent group on the authority, he said.

His resignation comes in the wake of an increasingly hard line on immigration by the Labour Government, and just days after Britain’s biggest ever far-right rally when more than 100,000 supporters of the far-right activist ‘Tommy Robinson’ marched through the streets of London.

The right-wing populist party Reform UK is also consistently recording significant leads in opinion polls.

Coun North said in his statement: “For a long time I’ve felt that the Labour Party I joined in 2015 is no longer working towards the social change this country desperately needs.

“Recently, my membership of the party has survived because of the belief I have in Hull's Labour Councillors to fight for our city; and though I still firmly believe that they are much better equipped to lead Hull than the Liberal Democrat administration, that belief is no longer enough to balance my lack of faith in this Labour Government.

“In the run up to the General Election last year, I still had hope that despite my lack of enthusiasm for the rhetoric of the Parliamentary Labour Party, once elected they would start to deliver and show working-class people of the United Kingdom that there are politicians who are on their side.

“I hoped for leadership focused on improving living standards for working-class people, committed to properly investing in public services and determined to reverse the damage done by austerity using a fairer taxation system.

“None of this has come to pass, and increasingly we’re seeing people who are feeling the effects of austerity turning to duplicitous far-right politicians for quick and easy answers to the hardships they face by demonising minorities and stoking anger.”

He said his resignation would “give me freedom to speak openly about the direction the Government is taking whilst still providing the same high level of support for residents and care for the community I represent alongside my ward colleague Sharon Hofman, who has my absolute support in seeking re-election in 2026”.

Hull Labour group said in a statement: “The Hull Labour group is deeply saddened by the resignation of Councillor Peter North from the Labour Party.

“Peter has been an extremely hard-working councillor, leading from the front, driving positive change in his ward, and making a significant contribution to the work of the Labour Group as a whole. His decision to resign is not a reflection of his relationship with colleagues locally, where there are no issues but rather with the leadership of the national Labour Party.

“We look forward to continuing to work constructively with Peter across the benches during the remainder of his term.

“Meanwhile, the Hull Labour Group remains focused on delivering for the people of Hull. Under the current Liberal Democrat administration, residents are facing stalled projects and a lack of accountability.

“The failure to reopen Chapman Street Bridge for five years, alongside delays to other major projects, is a direct result of an administration that is unwilling to act, lacking in values, and operating only as an opportunistic political machine.

“Labour in Hull will continue to prioritise the needs of our city and hold the Liberal Democrats to account.”

Responding to the resignation, Councillor Mike Ross, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said: “Under Keir Starmer, we have seen three senior Labour Councillors leave the Party, and Labour polled at an all-time low of just 15 per cent in Hull at the Mayoral election.

“It is clear more and more Councillors and supporters are deserting Labour, and there’s no surprise the public is doing the same.

“Here in Hull, the Lib Dems are the real alternative and we’re fighting for a fair deal for local people every day.”

Coun Bridges, who also sits as an independent, was a former deputy leader of the council.

She said the national Labour Party’s “silence” over Gaza was “morally indefensible”, and accused the party of “choosing popularism over social justice”.

Councillor Gary Wareing quit Labour last year and also now sits as an independent.

Coun North’s resignation means the current make-up of the council is:

Lib Dems: 29 seats

Labour: 23

Independents: 5