EXCLUSIVE
A SECOND Councillor is believed to have resigned from Tameside Council’s Reform UK group.
Danny Carr, who represents the Ashton St Michael’s ward, is thought to have left the collective on Monday, October 19.
He follows Ashton Waterloo’s Raymond Dunning, who quit the whip after his comments regarding immigration were exposed in an ITV undercover documentary.
In this case, The Correspondent understands the decision has been made over concerns at the way the party is being run locally and the leadership of Cllr Allan Hopwood.
Cllr Carr will now sit as an Independent Councillor, reducing Reform UK’s group to 17 members.
A source told The Correspondent Cllr Carr was removed from all his positions on Tameside Council panels after airing his grievances.
Now he is thought to have taken the decision to resign from the Reform UK group, which has already been embroiled in the mess caused by Cllr Dunning’s comments.
The now Independent representative insists he will not quit his seat after Tameside’s Labour group called for his removal.
Cllr Dunning wrote: “I will not be bullied. I will not be intimidated and I will not resign.
“Tameside Labour does not get to decide who represents the people of Waterloo Ward. That decision belongs to the electorate, not to political opponents demanding my removal.
“I have acknowledged that some of my language was inappropriate. I have taken responsibility for that, but I will not surrender my political beliefs, my principles or my right to express them lawfully.
“An apology for my choice of words is not an admission that my political opponents have the right to silence me.
“I stepped away from Reform UK because I did not want the controversy surrounding me to become a burden on my former colleagues. That decision was mine, made independently and on principle.
“I recognise the seriousness of the concerns raised and will cooperate with any lawful process. But political accusations are not findings of guilt, and demands for resignation are not a substitute for due process.
“I will not be silenced by political pressure. I will not be driven from public office by my opponents.
“I am staying. I am standing firm. and I will continue serving Waterloo ward.
“The people decide — not Tameside Labour.”
The Correspondent approached Cllr Hopwood and Reform UK Tameside’s interim chairman, Robert Barrowcliffe, for comment after Cllr Dunning’s comments emerged.
No response has been received.