Succinctly Put

[TSteels]

http://m.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/hartlepool-councillors-excluded-from-labour-party-1-5661619

"Hartlepool residents should know that while publicly stating that we're 'all in it together', the unelected leader has spent his first week in office ensuring that we cannot be involved in any level of decision-making.

"Our 'exclusion' from the Labour Party is a technicality based on our decision not to be part of the local Labour Group, despite actually being asked to re-join by the national party.

"It is a matter of conscience for us both – we cannot remain part of a Labour Group whose leadership bans public questions, defends councillors who fail to pay the minimum wage, refuses to suspend members arrested on suspicion of theft and perverting the course of justice, votes for their own 300 per cent salary increases, increases councillor travel expenses above HMRC recommendations and carries on petty squabbles instead of getting on with improving our town.

"Our question is, is there even a real Labour Group to re-join in Hartlepool?

"The people of Hartlepool are waking up to what's going on so the next 12 months should be interesting.

"We remain proud of our Labour values and principles, which they have abandoned, and will continue to fight for those principles as Independent Labour."

[steveL]

A bit like crew members who have found that their ship has left port

[for fawkes sake]

Even more succinct:

". . . not for the first time, Cllr Akers-Belcher finds himself, not only at odds with public opinion, but showing total indifference to it . . . a dangerous and potentially suicidal attitude for any politician to display. What we have seen so far from the current Labour Group is that spite looks set to trump common sense on every occasion. . . and that is not a good sign of things to come "