'I'll take it as a badge of honour!' Dudley councillor expelled from Labour by Keir Starmer says he has no regrets

Councillor Steve Edwards said he had no regrets about his outspoken attack, and said his expulsion from the party had probably achieved the opposite of what it was intended to do.

Councillor Edwards was informed of his expulsion on Friday, following a letter - which he published on X - which criticised the Government for cutting pensioners' winter fuel allowance and forcing local authorities to increase council tax.

"I believe you have abandoned your promises and turned your back on working-class people," he wrote.

"Labour leader lied to the British public and has turned his back on working-class people."

Speaking to the Express & Star following his expulsion, Councillor Edwards said: "For me, I was elected to represent the working class, not the Labour Party. 

"Yes, I did it because I believed the Labour Party was the best vehicle. But now the Labour Party have foregone all their principles for the reason I joined, I'll take it as a badge of honour for Keir Starmer to get so annoyed and kick me out for representing the working class."

Councillor Edwards, who had stood as an independent in 2021, rejoined the Labour Party in 2022, and was one of three successful Labour candidates in the Brockmoor and Pensnett ward at last year's 'all up' election when all 72 seats were up for grabs. Despite making significant gains, Labour failed to take control of the council, which had been led by the Tories for the past eight years.

Prior to entering politics, Councillor Edwards was known as 'Black Country Steve' for his involvement in the annual Black Country Festival.

He said that despite some reservations about Sir Keir's leadership style, he happily campaigned for the party at the last general election.

"I was hopefully looking forward to getting a Labour government that would come in and look after the working class, which is why the Labour government is in existence, to support the working class, to promote the working class and to be representative of the working class," he said.

"I campaigned for Keir Starmer to become Prime Minister. But in reality, six or seven months before his election, I was feeling I had certain reservations about him, and from things he was saying.

"He was staying silent on some stuff that was attacks on the working class by the Conservative government. I was thinking 'hopefully he's playing a long game' and we'll get in and come out fully in support of the working class."

But Councillor Edwards said he was quickly disappointed by the direction the new Government was taking.

"He got elected on various promises to look after the pensioners, to ensure children were fed, to get children out of poverty," he said. "And within weeks of getting elected, all that was up in the air, and he went back on everything he said he was going to do.

"We had the winter fuel allowance, which was taking money off pensioners, I think the cut-off point was about £11,000 a year. The national minimum wage is what, 19-20 grand a year now?

"So if the Government, on the one hand, is saying people need 20 grand a year just to survive, how can he cut off winter fuel allowance for somebody on 11 grand?

"So that was the big catalyst for me to start attacking Keir Starmer's principles and policies, because I thought he went back on everything he originally stood for."

He said he noticed a distinct change of mood among the public when his ward colleague Councillor Judy Foster resigned last year, sparking a by-election in the ward. While Brockmoor and Pensnett was regarded as a traditional Labour stronghold, the party came third, behind the Conservatives, who took the seat, and Reform UK, which came second.

"On the doorstep, everybody was telling us they're moving in the direction of Reform, because Keir Starmer has betrayed the working class and gone back on everything he said he was going to do for the working class," he said.

"So at that point, I put a post on Facebook, you know, calling out Keir Starmer, that had quite a lot of attention.

"We've seen in recent weeks, the bashing of people on benefits as if they're the issue with this country, and they're causing all the problems.

"You see people like Liz Kendall blaming people on benefits and saying winter fuel allowance needs to be stopped while they're all getting their benefits, they're all getting their heating allowance, their second home allowance, they're taking every allowance and every benefit they can, while pointing their finger at the worst off in society, who are the very people they were elected to represent.

"I'm more annoyed at Keir Starmer for how he is acting as leader of the Labour Party, than I am for the Conservatives. I expect certain things from the Conservatives, which I never expected from the Labour Party."

Councillor Edwards said he was not surprised to be expelled from the Labour Party, although he was taken aback by the speed with which it acted.

"I was surprised by how quick it was. I think I wrote to Keir Starmer on the Monday, and by the Friday morning I've been told my membership had been terminated.

"Whether it's just somebody within the national office saying, 'look, let's get rid of this lad, He's shouting too much in the support of the working class, so we need to keep his voice quiet'.

"But it seems to have had the opposite effect, because I'm sitting here now doing TV and radio and newspaper interviews. It's a bit of a badge of honour."

Councillor Edwards said he intended to serve out his term on the council as an independent, and did not plan to join any other party.

"The problem I have with parties at the minute is, if you look at the leaders of all the political parties, regardless of whether some of the policies are amicable, there's nobody who really represents the working class," he said.

"There's nobody who speaks with a regional accent, there's nobody who gets the spellings wrong or makes mistakes. We've just got a bunch of rich people who think 'we'll take control'. 

"So we all end up with a monolithic thing, a bunch of establishment stooges who want to lead the working class off the edge of a cliff."

He also ruled out joining his former Labour colleague Councillor Andrew Tromans in forming a non-party alliance with the Liberal Democrats on the council. Councillor Tromans resigned from the Labour Party last year, and now sits as an independent, but joined with the authority's three Liberal Democrats to form the Unity alliance.

But he said he was committed to working with his former Labour colleague Councillor Karen Westwood, and the ward's new Tory member Councillor Alex Dale, to improve the lot of people in Brockmoor and Pensnett.

"We've had various meetings, and we're all on the same page," he says. "If we can just get things happening in Brockmoor and Pensnett, then that's all that matters."

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