Seven Labour councillors in Slough have resigned from the party citing as the reason the treatment of Faiza Shaheen and Diane Abbot and the party’s position on Gaza.
The councillors argue that the recent treatment of Shaheen and Abbot – two left wing, female MPs from minority backgrounds – is symptomatic of ‘institutional racism’ and a party that is ‘more concerned with power than principles’.
The councillors also accused the party of supporting war crimes in Gaza and said that since the Israel-Hamas conflict began last October members had been ‘effectively gagged, stripped of the right to use internal mechanisms to hold leadership accountable.’
In an open letter, Zaffar Ajaib, Sabia Akram, Haqeeq Dar, Mohammed Nazir, Naveeda Qaseem, Waqas Sabah and Jamilia Sabah also said the party had betrayed Slough and was ignoring ‘evidence of selection rigging, GDPR breaches, and membership abuse’.
‘We have exhausted every party mechanism to ensure our residents’ concerns were heard at both local and national levels. In light of these insurmountable barriers, we, the rank-and-file members, are left with no option but to resign,’ they wrote.
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘We are focussed on electing a Labour government and delivering the change that people in Slough and across the country need.’
