Nottingham city councillors quit Labour to form new party

Five Nottingham city councillors have quit Labour – citing a loss of trust with the local and national party.

Councillors Kirsty L Jones, Imran Jalil, Anwar Khan, Naim Saqab Salim and Faith Gakanje-Ajala have formed the Nottingham People’s Alliance. A sixth councillor, AJ Matsiko, is also joining the new party after resigning from the Labour group in April.

The new group – described as a left-wing party built on a “progressive socialist platform” – will be Labour’s official opposition on the authority.

The Nottingham Labour group called the move “regrettable” but added it was focused on “continuing major improvements” through financial management to save taxpayers’ money.

Nottingham Labour added it was investing £15m in front-line services in next year’s budget.

“What matters now is that we continue with renewing our council, delivering for our residents, and leading Nottingham forward, and with the investment we’re proposing this year alone, we are turning words into action,” a spokesperson said.

The Labour group still has a majority on Nottingham City Council, with 43 councillors, and has run the authority since 1991.

But the shake-up means the Nottingham Independents, made up of three councillors, no longer form the opposition.

Jones, who represents Mapperley, is the Nottingham People’s Alliance’s interim leader.

She pointed to the city council’s recent cuts and a loss of trust with the national party.

Jones said: “Labour has failed my community, our city and the country. I think it is dead to be honest.

“This is the beginning of the end of the Labour party’s dominance over Nottingham.

“We are against council cuts, we want to improve the economy locally and we want to have the freedom to speak out about national and international issues which we care about.”

Matsiko, who has been standing as an Independent since April, said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had “betrayed us”.

“They’ve taken out the heart of what Labour stood for, and that’s been under Keir Starmer’s direct leadership,” he said.

“Labour has lost its core values and message. I’ve been a member for over 10 years with a commitment to seeing real change. The change has not been there.

“They’ve gone against working class, ordinary people who want to get on with their lives.”

In response, a Labour Party source said: “Rather than focusing on delivering the promises they made to their residents who elected them under a Labour banner, this ‘alliance’ is clearly more focused on their own political ambitions.

“Labour is no longer a party of protest, it is serious, a party determined to deliver for the working people of this city. This group needs to be honest and tell voters if this is just the first step to them joining Your Party.”

Your Party is a newly formed left-wing political party in the UK, founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana.

“There’s clearly an appetite that sort of politics. Whether we will join them or not is a decision for the democracy of our party,” Jones added.

The other councillors to join the Nottingham People’s Alliance represent Bilborough, Lenton and Wollaton East, Hyson Green and Arboretum and St Ann’s.

The group added it disagreed with the way Neghat Khan was chosen as council leader last year, after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) stepped in to oversee the process.

The new party is linked to the Broxtowe Alliance, which runs Broxtowe Borough Council.

It was formed earlier this year when 20 councillors quit Labour to join the party in January to protest at the party’s direction under Sir Keir Starmer.