Five Liverpool councillors are still awaiting a full response from the Labour Party following their suspension at the beginning of March, raising the possibility of a new, breakaway group forming in the council chamber.
The deadline for an ultimatum laid down by the councillors is tomorrow, April 19, which called for their cases to be resolved or they would quit the party altogether. The move comes after a row emerged over the council’s budget for the next financial year.
At a full council meeting on March 2, seven then-Labour councillors defied the party whip and voted against the Labour group’s budget. The budget sought to tackle a further £25m of cuts with the introduction of a new £40 green bin charge with further cuts to some public services in the city - including aspects of social care. In response to the proposed cuts, Mayor Joanne Anderson said there were "no easy answers".
READ MORE: Labour Party kicks out rebel Labour councillor
The seven councillors who voted against the budget were subsequently suspended by the party. George Knibb has since quit the party and Lindsey Melia has quit as a councillor - paving the way for a by-election in Fazakerley.
The remaining five councillors - Alan Gibbons, Alison Clarke, Rona Heron, Joanne Calvert and Alifie Hinks - wrote to the party asking for an explanation of the sanctions they faced following suspension. The group publicly stated that if it did not receive a response by April 19 it would look to form a new opposition party with other independent councillors.
Writing via the group’s Twitter account on Friday, the suspended councillors said: “It is Easter weekend and we have still received no response from the Labour Party to our recent letter.
“We voted against the budget, accepting there would be consequences. After five weeks, Labour still won't discuss those consequences.”
As of today, no resolution has been reached between the councillors and the Labour Party. Yesterday, it was also reported by the ECHO that Cllr Alan Gibbons had been kicked out of the Party.
Labour said the decision was not related to the budget rebellion that the Warbreck Cllr played a leading role in. However the decision adds to the growing possibility that a new breakaway group could be formed soon.
Following his suspension, Cllr Gibbons called the decision “suspicious”. After the Labour councillors voted against the budget, it had been widely rumoured that the suspended councillors will join with other ex-Labour members to form a new grouping on the council.
Speaking last month, current opposition leader and Lib Dem Cllr Richard Kemp did not rule out the possibility of working with a prospective new group in the chamber. When five councillors submitted their letter calling for a response to their cases by April 19, the Labour Party, when approached by the ECHO, declined to comment.
