Why two Birmingham Labour councillors quit party

It’s been over a month since Birmingham Labour suffered a brutal set of results in the local elections.

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The group lost control of the city council after 14 years, its leader John Cotton lost his seat and their number of councillors plummeted to just 17 – compared to 65 in 2022.

This collapse – and loss of a huge flagship council for Labour – happened amid a whirlwind of factors such as the ongoing bins strike, Gaza and frustration with Sir Keir Starmer’s government.

Brum has now been thrust into an unprecedented era where the fracturing of the city’s politics meant a coalition involving the Lib Dems, Greens and independents took control of the council.

Birmingham Labour did not get involved in this alliance, with their new leader Coun Nicky Brennan saying last month that they would “reflect carefully on the result” and “serve residents constructively from the opposition benches” instead.

The group has continued to be rocked by turbulence however, with two Labour councillors recently announcing they were quitting the party within the space of a week.

Diane Donaldson, a councillor representing Hodge Hill and Bromford, was the first to leave, saying she had walked away from the party after being ordered to vote with Reform at a recent meeting of the full council.

She also cited national failures over the situation in Gaza and poor accountability and leadership for her resignation.

Coun Majid Mahmood, a councillor in the same ward, followed her out the exit door last Friday by saying he had “serious concerns about the current state” of Birmingham Labour.

The group hit back however, accusing Coun Mahmood, a former cabinet member, of seeking to “undermine the Labour group and its new leadership”.

A Labour source close to the group also claimed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the councillor had been “undermining colleagues and the Labour Party”.

“He simply jumped before he was pushed,” they argued.

“Now he has left we can finally get on with the job of rebuilding the Labour Party in Birmingham, without his ego getting in the way.”

Prior to his resignation, Coun Mahmood began to vent his frustration over the direction of Birmingham Labour in the city’s complex political scene post-election.

In particular, he wrote on social media that he was “deeply disappointed that Labour is not part of the new left-wing coalition in the city”.

Coun Mahmood went on to raise further concerns in his resignation statement last Friday, including ‘expectations to support the elevation of councillors from Reform into influential positions’.

He argued: “The current local leadership lacks the experience, judgement, and political competence required to effectively manage a group in a city as complex and demanding as Birmingham.”

“I, like my ward colleague, was troubled by expectations placed on representatives to support the elevation of councillors from Reform UK into influential committee positions.”

“I am also deeply concerned by the direction of Labour’s immigration policy, which appears increasingly shaped by political expediency rather than principle or long-term vision.”

“I am also dismayed by the refusal of many senior Labour figures to clearly acknowledge the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Palestine.”

He finished his statement by saying: “My views no longer fit comfortably within a Labour Party. Ultimately, the Labour Party has left me, not the other way around.

“I will continue to work to represent the people of Bromford and Hodge Hill with my ward colleague Coun Diane Donaldson and to stand up for the communities and values that first led me into public service.”

‘The Labour Group will continue working as a united team’

“Since the local elections, Coun Mahmood has repeatedly sought to undermine the Labour Group and its new leadership,” a Birmingham Labour group spokesperson fired back last week.

“He had the opportunity to stand for Group Leader and make his case to colleagues, but chose not to.”

They continued: “Labour members were elected to work as a team for Birmingham residents and Coun Mahmood has decided barely a month after being elected on a Labour ticket he no longer wants to be part of that team.

“Our priority will always be Birmingham residents. The Labour Group will continue working as a united team, providing a strong and constructive opposition and serving our communities across the city.”

Reacting to Coun Donaldson’s resignation, a spokesperson for the group said: “This is a disappointing decision by a councillor elected on a Labour platform just a month ago.

“The Labour group will continue to hold the administration to account based on our shared Labour values.”

These two resignations from Birmingham Labour takes the group’s number of councillors down to 15, which means they now have less seats than Reform, the Greens and the Tories.

Birmingham Labour, and their new leader Nicky Brennan, will be hoping to avoid further political shockwaves as the group looks to ‘reflect and rebuild’.