Sir Keir Starmer has lost control of Broxtowe Borough Council, just months before the local elections – after 20 councillors quit Labour with a fierce attack on the prime minister.
The members of the council in Nottinghamshire who have quit the party will now be known as the Broxtowe Independents after what they described as two years of “bitterness and betrayal” under Sir Keir’s Labour Party.
The sudden exit of the group was led by council leader Milan Radulovic.
Labour had only regained Broxtowe Borough Council from no overall control at the May 2023 local elections.
One of the defecting councillors was also a member of Nottinghamshire County Council, meaning Labour now no longer holds the majority of opposition there.
The newly-formed Broxtowe Independents said “with a heavy heart” that they can “no longer be in a party that has abandoned traditional Labour values under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership”.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Radulovic said the “final straw” was the “issue around blocking 10 of our candidates from standing as county council candidates” – a decision the council leader previously described as a “centrist purge”.
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He said he hopes the exodus will be a “wake-up call” for the Labour Party at both a regional and national level.
Mr Radulovic added the party will “undoubtedly” see “heavy losses” at the local elections.
“We will be standing candidates in every ward, the Independents in Broxtowe, and we will look forward to testing the way in which we have operated at the ballot box, a true test of democracy,” he said.
But the six remaining Labour councillors in the area said the defections will have “no effect” on their commitment.
They said: “We, together with our Labour colleagues including MPs Juliet Campbell and Alex Norris, will continue to work to make Broxtowe a healthier, greener, safer and more prosperous place for everyone as change begins under this Labour government.”
In a statement shared on Thursday, the 20-strong Broxtowe Independents said Labour in its current form is “not the Labour we campaigned for”.
They criticised Sir Keir’s government for stripping back the winter fuel allowance, increasing bus fares and keeping hold of the two-child benefit cap for “struggling families”.
“The public were told to vote for change and all they got was more of the same – attacking the most vulnerable, to protect the interests of the rich and powerful,” they said.
“In Broxtowe, we urged the party to rethink the winter fuel allowance which affected our local residents. The response? To callously block 10 of our dedicated councillors as county council candidates for the local elections in May 2025. We will not stand by and let down the people of Broxtowe and defend the indefensible.
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“We cannot just sit back in silence.”
The group said it would form a “new, independent party” to “always prioritise the needs of everyone in our community”.
The former Labour councillors have had months of public disagreement with the government over the decision to means test the winter fuel payment, which has stripped the benefit from millions of pensioners.
The local elections will take place on 1 May.
