Burnley councillors blasted by Conservative group for decision to resign from Labour Party over Sir Keir Starmer's decision not to push for a ceasefire in Gaza

In a statement this afternoon a spokesman said: “To see nearly half of Labour’s local councillors resign over international politics says it all.

“ As a force they’ve collapsed overnight and that will take a lot of people by surprise. It’s not clear who leads them now. Or where their Parliamentary candidate stands in all of this? Oddly, he’s been silent since last week.

“War and conflict is just awful – and what’s happening abroad is heart-breaking. But as borough councillors our job is to represent residents here in Burnley and Padiham on local issues. That’s what we’ve always focused on because that’s the purpose of local councillors.

“Sadly, we expect the council chamber will be turned into a Labour Party battleground on this issue but we’re going to continue with what we’re here for - helping residents and getting things done.

“Because whatever is happening to the local Labour Party right now, our focus needs to stay on delivering better local services for people.”

Coun. Anwar, who has been in the party for 10 years, said it had been a "really difficult decision" to leave the Labour Party. He was among those calling for the leader of the Labour Party to resign last week. Labour has backed the UK government's stance of calling for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid and medical treatments to reach Palestinians in Gaza.

The 10 councillors described their memberships as "untenable" given the leadership's refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East.

In a statement the collective councillors said: ““We cannot remain in a party that is not doing enough whilst innocent people are being killed in Gaza and Israel. We will continue to represent our communities as Independent councillors on our respective councils and use our voice to challenge injustices across the world.”