A councillor representing the Labour party has resigned from his position following a dispute over the decision to readmit a fellow councillor who was suspended for posting anti-Semitic material.
Councillor Peter Atkinson made the decision to leave the party after his objections to the return of Councillor Anne Pissaridou were ignored and she was allowed to re-join the Brighton and Hove Labour party.
Before his departure, Cllr Atkinson had been a registered Labour member for over 40 years.
His issues stem from Cllr Pissaridou’s previous suspension last July following the finding of two separate social media posts in 2016 and 2018, both publicly displaying an anti-Semitic sentiment which was viewable by her constituents.
At the time a further two councillors actually resigned when faced with complaints over their social media activity.
The former councillor was first elected to office back in 2015 for North Portislade after receiving a mere 98 votes more than his Conservative challenger.
Four years later, he proved his popularity by winning the 2019 election by almost 900 votes, taking 30% of the total vote share in the process.
Peter’s decision comes as Keir Starmer and the Labour Party have made large strides to combat the problem of anti-Semitism which has been a notable problem within the organisation for a long time.
He stated that “Cllr Pissaridou was only temporarily suspended. I can’t change that decision, but I can take a decision of my own not to share a political space with her in the same ward”.
Despite his move, he mentions that this is no reflection on the Labour Party and their overall efforts but is purely an issue of his inability to sit back and accept this action.
He will continue to commit himself to working for the people of Mile Oak and North Portislade on both individual casework and community issues.
Mr Atkinson will now stand as an independent candidate for re-election until the next local elections take place in 2023.
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske
