Ansar Ali: Second Peterborough councillor 'resigns' from Labour Party

A second Peterborough councillor has resigned from the Labour Party in less than one month.

Councillor Ansar Ali (North ward) will now sit as an Independent.

It comes as former Labour councillor, Imtiaz Ali (Fletton and Woodston), switched to the Green Party about a fortnight ago.

Councillor Ansar Ali has sat on Peterborough City Council (PCC) since 2016.

He said he will run again as an Independent in May’s council elections, “putting the beautiful city of Peterborough first”.

In a statement, councillor Ali added that he has been an “activist, supporter and campaigner” with Labour for many years, but is no longer aligned with the party's direction.

There are now 14 Labour councillors on the council, compared with four Greens, six Independents (including four members of Peterborough First), eight Liberal Democrats and 28 Conservatives.

Labour lost another councillor last year, Orton Longueville representative Heather Skibsted, after she joined the Green Party, saying it aligned much closer to her views.

North, Fletton and Woodston and Orton Longueville are all among the wards in Peterborough with council elections this year.

Around a third of seats face re-election each year every three years, followed by one year without elections.

The last time an individual party held PCC was in 2018 when it was Conservative-ruled.

There is currently no overall majority, but it is Conservative-led with councillor Wayne Fitzgerald at the top.

Labour last held the council in 1997.

Peterborough Labour has been contacted for comment.