ONE of the Wirral Labour group’s most senior and loyal members was last night on the verge of leaving his party – to join the Conservatives.
Seacombe councillor Denis Knowles is understood to be one of a group of three Labour councillors in Wirral considering abandoning their party, the Daily Post can reveal.
Cllr Knowles last night said he had reached “the end of my tether” with the group which he has represented on Wirral Council for 13 years.
He said during the last year he had been “stabbed in the back left, right and centre” and had written to his party leader about his concerns, but received no response.
Cllr Knowles was recently replaced as a Wirral Labour representative on Merseytravel.
He said he had formally applied to continue but party leader Steve Foulkes “said I had done a great job but he was handing it back to Ron (Abbey), with no vote”.
He said: “There are one or two others, like me, on the verge of resigning.”
Cllr Knowles insisted he wants to remain within an organised political party and working for his ward: “I want to remain a councillor, representing Seacombe, but that may not be in the Labour party”.
He ruled out standing as an independent, joining the Lib-Dems or any fringe groups and said he wanted to join another political party, but would not be drawn any further.
“It would be with a heavy heart and great sadness that I have reached the end of my tether.”
He was also critical of the culture within the Labour party and said: “If you act in a civil way and treat people with honesty you get scoffed at, and if you shout loud enough you get what you want. There is too much antagonism and anger.
“I have been extremely loyal, much as I have regretted some of the decisions that have been made, I have voted with the party out of loyalty. I do not feel at the moment I can contemplate remaining within the group. We have a meeting next Monday and that is when I will make my decision known.
“I have been discussing my future with others. It’s an awful thing to do and say, but my future may be elsewhere.”
