Former Brighton and Hove City Council leader and councillor for East Brighton Warren Morgan has resigned from the Labour Party.
Morgan, who had been a Labour member for almost three decades, said the party had been overtaken by a ‘toxic culture of aggression and bullying’ from supporters of the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
In a statement on his Facebook page, he said: “I have submitted my resignation from the Labour Party to the General Secretary Jennie Formby, citing Brexit, antisemitism and the toxic culture of aggression and bullying within the Party and the broader Corbyn-supporting base.”
He resigned as leader of the council last year following a torrent of ‘upsetting’ attacks on social media.
The news comes just days after Councillor Anne Meadows defected to the Conservative Party from Labour, accusing them of not doing enough to address antisemitism in the party.
This latest move brings the number of Labour councillors down to 19, with the Conservatives on 21, the Greens on 11, with two independents and one vacant seat.
On Brexit, Morgan added: “I cannot remain a member of a Party which supports and enables Brexit, which came about purely to win the Conservative Party the 2015 election, which was passed due to dog-whistle rhetoric on immigration, corrupt campaign practices, “dark ads” and online interference, and decades of myths about the EU propagated by people who resent the restrictions the EU places on their business and financial interests.”
He also expressed his intent to vote with his former Labour colleagues in the council until the elections in May.
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