A LABOUR councillor who tweeted his unhappiness at developments with former MP Paul Williams and was subsequently thrown out of the party has claimed being a member is “not very good for your mental health”.
Councillor Craig Hannaway also said party chiefs were trying to control what issues could be discussed at local meetings.
Cllr Hannaway, who represents the Saltburn ward on Redcar and Cleveland Council, said: “People don’t join the Labour party to go to meetings and be censored about what they can discuss.”
He had posted on Twitter that he “couldn’t defend this opportunism and lack of respect for voters” after Dr Williams pulled out of the race to become the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner and was selected instead by Labour to become its parliamentary candidate for the now vacant seat of Hartlepool.
He then posted a follow up tweet saying he had been thrown out and had “grown very uncomfortable with the party controlling what could be said in meetings”.
Cllr Hannaway explained he had received an e-mail from the party with screenshots of his recent Twitter posts stating his membership was being removed and he could no longer attend meetings.
He now plans to sit as an independent in his ward, having been a Labour councillor for the past six years.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is not very good for your mental health being a Labour party member at the moment, it’s very difficult and they need to treat all the members equally.
“When you get thrown out it forces you to take a big step backwards and think why am I in this organisation?
“I only have one life and feel a bit sort of damaged by what has occurred really, and would much rather just help the people of Saltburn and not seek to appeal this.”
Cllr Hannaway said members “from the other side of the party were constantly waiting for him to trip up”.
He also revealed that he himself had applied to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Hartlepool after former MP Mike Hill resigned, but then “realised there wasn’t anything to apply for because they had already decided on Paul Williams”.
Dr Paul Williams, Labour's former candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner in Cleveland who is now the parliamentary candidate in Hartlepool
Cllr Hannaway said the decision to have the former Stockton South Labour MP stand in Hartlepool instead of in the election for police and crime commissioner “gave the impression that Labour isn’t that bothered about how policing is done in Cleveland”.
He added: “It is very unhelpful to the party’s chances.”
Councillor Carl Quartermain, leader of the Labour group on Redcar and Cleveland Council, said he was “saddened” by Cllr Hannaway’s departure and described him as an “exceptional councillor”.
A spokesman for Labour North confirmed Cllr Hannaway was no longer a member of the party, but said he could make no further comment.
Dr Williams works in the NHS as a GP and was the MP for Stockton South between 2017 and 2019 until he lost his seat to Conservative Matt Vickers.
- Caroline Jackson, a Conservative councillor for Hutton ward on Redcar and Cleveland Council has resigned from the local authority on grounds of ill health. The vacancy is likely to trigger a by-election on May 6 when local elections are taking place.
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