A Labour loyalist councillor in Birmingham has quit the party in a shock move, citing failures of 'trust and transparency' and expressing her 'humiliation' over the handling of a critical vote.
Diane Donaldson, a Labour councillor for a decade in Hodge Hill and Bromford, said she has walked away from the party after being ordered to vote with Reform at a recent meeting of the full council. Doing so went against her principles and was the final straw, she said.
Reasons for Resignation
She also cited national failures over the situation in Gaza and poor accountability and leadership for her resignation. The party's failure to listen had gone on for too long, she said, speaking exclusively to BirminghamLive.
Cllr Donaldson said she had agonised over the decision but knew she could not ignore her instincts and back the local leadership any longer. She ended her letter of resignation, sent to regional and local Labour chiefs, with a biting message to her local colleagues: 'I want to thank those who continue to fight for integrity and compassion within the Party. I wish them strength, because they will need it.'
Further Unrest in the Party
She might not be the only Labour councillor to end up out of the party this week. Her fellow councillor in Hodge Hill and Bromford, Majid Mahmood, is facing disciplinary action after he defied party orders and spoke up on multiple local issues and against agreed messaging. He could end up suspended from the group as a result.
It's a massive blow for local group leader Councillor Nicky Brennan, who was imposed as leader just three weeks ago after being chosen by a panel of the party's National Executive Committee. She must now lead a demoralised and further diminished group of now 16 Labour councillors still licking their wounds after a dire collapse in support at the elections held on May 7.
The Final Straw
Cllr Donaldson said events at Friday's resumed annual general meeting of the new council had triggered her decision. At that meeting Cllr Roger Harmer, Liberal Democrats, was elected as leader of a new coalition administration also including Greens and Better Birmingham Independents. He announced his new Cabinet shortly after. But it was what happened next that distressed Cllr Donaldson and was 'the final straw'.
'I was clear to colleagues that I would never, ever work with Reform. I disagree with what they represent,' she said. 'To then be told by the Labour leadership to cast a vote with Reform, that could have resulted in Reform councillors chairing planning, business management and employment committees on the council, was too much.'
She said she went along with the order at the time but felt 'humiliated' to do so and could not continue with the party as a result. Cllr Donaldson has been a Labour stalwart and activist for 17 years, including recently working as election agent for fellow councillors in East Birmingham. She will now sit on the council as an Independent and pledged to continue to represent residents.
Letter of Resignation
Cllr Donaldson sent her letter of resignation to Sam Donohue, regional director of the party, copied in to Cllr Brennan and group chief whip Ray Goodwin. Her letter reads as follows:
'I am writing to resign from the Labour Party with immediate effect. I am still reeling in shock and struggling to process what has happened this week. I have been through difficult periods in the Party before, but what we have witnessed this week represents a level of disappointment and disillusionment I never thought I would feel.
'For a long time I have tried to stay, to believe things could be changed from within, and to remain loyal to the values that first brought me into the Labour Party. But that belief has now been exhausted. I can no longer remain a member of a party that I feel has fundamentally lost sight of transparency, trust, and accountability in decision-making.
'What took place at full council, where members were led into a position that resulted in supporting Reform UK, has left me deeply shocked and unable to reconcile my continued membership. Alongside this, I am increasingly disturbed by the direction of the Party nationally, particularly in relation to Gaza. The suffering being witnessed there demands moral clarity and compassion, yet instead we have seen language and positioning that many of us find profoundly distressing.
'I am also deeply concerned about the direction and judgement of the new local leadership in Birmingham. In my view, it has failed to provide the clarity, steadiness, and integrity that members and residents have a right to expect at such a critical time, and this has further contributed to my decision to leave.
'This is not a decision I take lightly. Labour has been part of my political identity for a long time. But I cannot remain in a place where I feel that core principles of humanity, honesty, and solidarity are being eroded. I am resigning my membership with immediate effect.
'I will continue to work in my ward of Bromford and Hodge Hill alongside my ward colleague Cllr Majid Mahmood, and remain committed to serving my community to the best of my ability. I want to thank those who continue to fight for integrity and compassion within the Party. I wish them strength, because they will need it.'
What Happened at the Friday Full Council Meeting?
Labour and Reform UK were outmanouvred by the new coalition administration and the Conservatives during a critical vote at the annual meeting. The new coalition of Greens, Liberal Democrats and Better Birmingham Independents, led by Roger Harmer, had presented a 'List A' setting out who they supported to chair each of the seven scrutiny committees and ten regulatory committees on the council - roles taken traditionally by opposition members. In it the roles were distributed between Reform UK, Conservatives, Labour members and Independents, as the main opposition groups.
Each of the chairing roles carries a cash allowance to cover the extra work involved in preparing for and chairing meetings. But the new administration then presented an alternative 'List B', in which every one of the scrutiny roles available would go to Conservatives. Members were asked to vote on List A or List B. It was going to be a largely symbolic vote as the coalition plus the Conservatives together would have a clear majority to get List B approved.
Cllr Donaldson and others say that on this basis Labour should have made a tactical decision to abstain and so avoid voting with Reform - but instead they 'whipped' members to back List A. It was this that Cllr Donaldson said was not palatable.
A Birmingham Labour spokesperson said: 'This is a disappointing decision by a councillor elected on a Labour platform just a month ago. The Labour group will continue to hold the administration to account based on our shared Labour values.'
