Mystery surrounds Sandwell councillor's short lived resignation from the Labour Party

He tweeted earlier this month: "I have made the difficult decision to resign my membership of the Labour Party. I joined the Labour Party believing their promises to change the country, but their promises have not been fulfilled.

"I can no longer support the way the party is governing."

"I will now sit as an Independent councillor, as I cannot support a party which does not align with my values and principles. I remain committed to working for local communities."

Councillor Wilkes is not a lifelong Labour supporter, he was first elected in Princes End as a Conservative. In January, 2024, he and fellow Princes End Tory Archer Williams defected to Labour blaming the impact of then Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's policies on his ward, one of the most deprived in the region. 

The Conservatives hit back and revealed the pair were on the verge of being deselected before they jumped ship.

Councillor Wilkes former colleague Councillor Les Trumpeter retweeted the resignation tweet last week, saying: "David was never a Labour guy, I said that at the time of him leaving our group. Next stop Reform? He’s a good guy, I wish him well."

Councillor Wilkes did not reply to the Express & Star request for a comment about his resignation from Sir Keir Starmer's party.

However, this week he has posted several Labour social media missives after deleting his resignation tweets.

He shared tweets by West Midlands Labour Mayor Richard Parker and Tipton and Wednesbury Labour MP Antonia Bance.

His Sandwell Council councillor page also shows he remains a Labour councillor.