Three Labour councillors defect to the Green Party
Councillors Ian Edwards, Tom Butcher and Repi Begum switch allegiance to Green.
Three Swindon councillors have defected from Labour to join the Green Party.
Councillor Ian Edwards became the first Green Party councillor in Swindon after switching allegiances, he announced on Friday, October 17.
Councillor Edwards was elected as one of Priory Vale’s three members in May 2024 but then left the Labour group at the end of September.
He said: “I am excited and proud that the Green Party has allowed me to represent them on Swindon Borough Council.
He said he had been impressed by the newly elected party leader Zack Polanski, adding: “After leaving the Labour Party and joining the Greens, my intention was to remain as an independent councillor for the rest of my term.
“But after attending conference and, in particular, listening to Zack’s speech, I feel compelled to be as involved as possible with a growing, modern, forward-thinking, and energetic political party.”
Two more Swindon Labour councillors have jumped ship to Green Party, with a press conference being held at the town’s Wyvern Theatre.
Councillors Tom Butcher and Repi Begum spoke publicly alongside Zack Polanski, explaining their reason for defecting.
Zack Polanski said: “It does not feel like anybody is leaving the Labour Party, the Labour Party is leaving them.
“There is no environmental justice without racial, social and economic justice too.
“Poeple in Swindon are tired and exhausted where wages are not increasing and people are being priced out.
“They voted for Labour expecting change, but what they got in Keir Starmer is not change, and where it is change, it is often something worse.”
Councillor Butcher, a representative for Stratton St.Margaret and South Marston shared his frustrations with the Labour Party.
He said: “I found myself over a number of months now becoming more and more disenfranchised.
“It is the Labour party that has changed, we must be able to use our voices in order to make change.”
Councillor Begum, a representative for Lydiard and Freshbrook explained that she is “not a politician”.
She said: “I felt so much anger that there is so much injustice around, and the more I looked around at the Green Party, it was the ‘let’s make hope normal again’ message.
“Being able to be here and speak openly about it is what helped draw me in."