Labour Councillor Stages Dramatic Walkout at Hackney Council Meeting
In a dramatic turn of events at Hackney Town Hall, Labour councillor M Can Ozsen has dramatically resigned from the party during a full council meeting, launching scathing criticisms of the government's policies on immigration, welfare and the Middle East conflict.
Unexpected Resignation Amid Election Deselection
The London Fields councillor, who has served since 2014, announced his departure after being barred from standing again in the upcoming local elections. His resignation speech was abruptly cut short by the council Speaker, who ruled that his comments were not "on the agenda" for the meeting.
In a statement provided to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Ozsen expressed his disillusionment with the Labour Party, stating he could no longer distinguish it from the Conservatives and Reform UK due to what he described as its "hateful, xenophobic and dishonest stance on immigration."
Multiple Policy Criticisms Levelled
The departing councillor launched multiple attacks on government policy, claiming: "This Labour Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to remove the two-child welfare benefit cap – preferring instead to see children go hungry."
He further criticised the government's "failure to call out genocide" in Gaza and accused Hackney Council, which is Labour-run, of "refusing to divest its pension fund from firms that enable Israel's war effort."
Deselection Process Dispute
Cllr Ozsen claimed his deselection began with disciplinary action following a 2023 council vote where he supported opposition calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. He asserted that other colleagues who voted similarly had been permitted to stand again, while he faced exclusion.
"I was accused subsequently of failing to express regret for not following the Group Whip despite not being given the opportunity to do so through an end-of-suspension interview," he explained. The councillor also claimed the party framed his absence from council business due to two surgical operations as "avoidable."
Parting Shots and Future Plans
In his final statement, Cllr Ozsen declared: "I have come to the view that the Labour Party, both nationally and locally, has abandoned its core values and betrayed the very people whose interests it was set up to defend and promote."
He added that the party had become "a career path for lobbyists, special advisers and apparatchiks whose commitment to socialist change and renewal is non-existent because it threatens their interests."
The councillor confirmed he will "definitely" attempt to contest his seat in May's elections, though he has not specified whether he will run as an independent or for another political party. He now joins three other former Labour councillors who left the party in 2023 following the same ceasefire motion controversy, forming a new Independent Socialist group.
Growing Number of Departures
Cllr Ozsen becomes the tenth Hackney Labour councillor who is either standing down, failed the local branch selection process, or was blocked by the party from standing again. Labour sources, including Hackney Mayor Caroline Woodley, stated they had no prior knowledge of their colleague's intention to resign.
Leadership Response and Counterclaims
Speaking after the meeting, Mayor Woodley revealed she had supported Cllr Ozsen in his unsuccessful appeal against deselection. She disputed that the decision originated from the Hackney Labour Group, suggesting it was instead a regional party decision.
The Mayor's claim appears supported by an e-petition launched late last year to "save" both Cllr Ozsen's candidacy and that of his colleague, Cllr Soraya Adejare, after both were deselected.
While expressing sympathy for Cllr Ozsen's stance on Gaza, which she acknowledged was a "passionate issue" within the party, Mayor Woodley suggested that "persistent breaking of the whip" led to his deselection.
Official Labour Statement
A Hackney Labour spokesperson responded: "We regret that M Can Ozsen has decided to leave Labour. He has worked with us since 2022 to help fulfil our 2022 manifesto promises and it is difficult to lose such a valued colleague."
"We do not see any political group he may join carrying out those promises and policies which the majority of people in Hackney have voted for, including those voters who elected him in good faith," the statement continued.
"We hope he will reflect on the negative impact his decision will have on his former colleagues, on residents who voted for him, and on the trust placed in him by those voters. Such an action can only damage people's trust in all those who are elected into positions of power."
The spokesperson concluded by expressing anticipation for the upcoming ward election, stating: "We look forward to the next election in that ward when we can once again see a Labour candidate win the trust of the voters."
