Stroud Green councillor quits Labour over Starmer's leadership

Alexandra Worrell cites concerns over government’s policies on immigration, climate change, welfare and Gaza in resignation statement, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Stroud Green and (inset) Alexandra Worrell

A Haringey councillor has resigned from Labour citing concerns with the party’s leadership nationally.

In a statement released on Monday (24th) Stroud Green ward councillor Alexandra Worrell said “for some time” she’d had concerns about the direction of the “national party under Keir Starmer”.

Cllr Worrell said: “Unfortunately, since Labour took office, they have watered down and undermined their climate policies, pursued increasingly hostile and rightwing immigration and asylum policies, proposed benefit cuts, presided over rising homelessness, removed rights for trans people, and continued to underfund local government.

“I’m resigning because I oppose all of these things.”

In response, a Haringey Labour spokesperson said: “We are sorry that Cllr Worrell has resigned from the Labour Party. Alex is a conscientious, hard-working ward councillor. We know she will continue to serve her community diligently until May, when she has chosen not to stand for re-election.

“We thank her for her service and for reaffirming her support for the local party and our progressive agenda. We wish her all the best.”

Cllr Worrell has said she took the decision not to run again before Labour selections opened and that she intends to serve the rest of her term as an independent councillor until May 2026.

The Stroud Green councillor also slammed the government over its stance on the Israel-Gaza war, calling it “appalling”.

Cllr Worrell said: “Labour had a moral obligation to do everything in its power to stop [Israel prime minister] Netanyahu and it stopped short. When the government did take the right positions, it came to them too late.

“It called for a ceasefire after thousands of innocent people had already been killed. It suspended arms licences but did not include F-35 components. It could have imposed heavy sanctions on Israel but didn’t. Meanwhile, it has put a lot of time and resources into cracking down on pro-Palestine protesters.

“Almost 70,000 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel, the vast majority of them innocent civilians. Even now after the supposed ceasefire, Israel is continuing to kill Palestinians every day. I’ll always be heartbroken. I should have resigned over the government’s handling of this sooner, but for what it’s worth, I’m doing it now. Free Palestine.”

Speaking about the party locally she said she was “supportive” of what Haringey’s administration was “trying to achieve”, referring to its council housebuilding programme and tackling of homeless rates and poverty, calling it “important work” that she hoped “continues”.

Cllr Worrell also called out Labour’s new asylum and returns policy, announced this month, which introduces a longer 20-year path to permanent settlement for refugees.

She said: “Labour have completely played into Reform’s hands by accepting their narrative on immigration and continuing to keep it at the top of the news agenda. In taking an increasingly cruel approach to immigration policy, the government have abandoned Labour’s core values in favour of attempting to appease a group of people who will not be appeased.”

Saying she’d “lost faith” in the belief Labour could “overcome Reform”, she added: “I don’t think you can beat far-right populism with a centrist economic status quo plus the demonisation of immigrants and benefit claimants.

“People need to see material improvements to their living standards and a functioning state that meets everyone’s needs. We can’t achieve that without pursuing brave policies like tax reform. We need a bold, hopeful vision that addresses the country’s economic imbalances, and we must proudly make and win the argument that we are better when diverse communities come together.”

Cllr Worrell is now the fifth councillor to quit the Labour Party since the last local election in 2022. However, she has decided not to join the Independent Socialist group on the council.

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