Cardiff councillor quits Labour, accusing Starmer of moral cowardice in not standing up to Trump

Martin Shipton

A Labour councillor representing the Canton district of Cardiff has resigned from the party over its lurch to the right and Keir Starmer’s failure to “stand up to tyrants” like Donald Trump.

Cllr Jasmin Chowdhury, a senior public health practitioner with Public Health Wales in her professional life, has been a member of Cardiff council since 2022.

In a resignation statement posted on Facebook and LinkedIn, Cllr Chowdhury writes: “Having been a member of the Labour Party for most of my adult life, this decision has not been taken lightly.

“I joined the Labour Party because of its historic commitment to social justice, internationalism, equality and the protection of human rights.

“However, I can no longer, in good conscience, remain affiliated with a party whose current leadership lacks the moral courage and political backbone to stand up to tyrants who are making a mockery of international law and continuing acts that many international bodies and experts have described as genocide.

“This moral failure is mirrored domestically. The party’s continued cowardice in shifting to the right has contributed to disastrous policies that erode civil liberties and punish the most vulnerable in our society, including disabled people. This includes the criminalisation of dissent through the arrest of peaceful protesters across the UK, including in Cardiff. Rather than defending the fundamental democratic right to protest, Labour has too often chosen authoritarian approaches it should be challenging.

“The failure of the Labour government and party leadership to offer principled opposition, meaningful accountability, or a clear ethical stance – both internationally and at home – has left me deeply disillusioned. Silence, ambiguity and political calculation in the face of injustice and bigotry both internationally and at home are not compatible with the values that brought me into public service.

“At a local level, I am equally concerned by the absence of accountability within party leadership structures. Serious questions must be asked about how decisions are made, whose voices are heard, and whose are marginalised. In particular, there has been a troubling failure to support women within the party, many of whom feel alienated, dismissed or unsupported when raising concerns.This culture is not one I can continue to endorse.

“My duty is, first and foremost, to the people I represent. Continuing as an Independent councillor for Canton will allow me to act with integrity, honesty and freedom of conscience, without being constrained by party positions that I fundamentally disagree with.

“I remain committed to the principles of justice, equality, peace and accountability, and I will continue to advocate for these values both locally and more broadly.”

Cllr Chowdhury is the sister of Liberal Democrat councillor Bablin Molik, who was Lord Mayor of Cardiff in 2023-24.

Cardiff council’s Labour leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, has been invited to comment.

Cllr Chowdhury is the third female councillor in Wales to resign from the Labour Party in recent weeks.

‘Uneasy’

In mid-December, Cllr Helen Cunningham, the deputy leader of Blaenau Gwent council, left the party saying she had grown increasingly uneasy with the leadership. A lack of vision, values and credible democratic processes deeply troubles me. It does the people of Blaenau Gwent a disservice.

Cllr Cunningham, who remains on the council as an Independent, added: “I have chosen to resign my membership of the Labour Party, having grown increasingly uneasy with the leadership. A lack of vision, values and credible democratic processes deeply troubles me. It does the people of Blaenau Gwent a disservice.”

She added: “Attempts to forge a transparent, democratic and political path are stifled. The undermining of mine and other councillors’ efforts to hold our council to the highest standards, including for flooded communities, to combat poverty and for future generations, has been a sobering spectacle. So too the oversight and allocation of replacement EU and regional development funds, the downplaying of local activities of the far right, and the orchestrated silence on genocide in Gaza, where the value of pension funds apparently commands greater importance than Palestinian lives.”

At the same time, Cllr Sonia Behr, also a member of Blaenau Gwent council, defected to the Green Party, stating: “A Labour party that won’t confront the scale of inequality facing the UK isn’t one I can support.

“From freezing personal tax allowances and keeping punitive welfare caps, to allowing energy companies to profit while bills rise, too many Labour decisions protect the powerful at the expense of the public.

“I believe the Green Party articulates what many people in Wales and across the UK are feeling: that inequality is not inevitable, that young people deserve hope, and that radical change is both necessary and achievable.”

The three resignations come at a time when Welsh Labour is facing the near certainty of losing its dominance in Wales, where it has been the largest party since 1922 and has led the Welsh Government since the dawn of devolution in 1999. A poll this week suggested it would win the support of just 10% of voters, putting it in joint fourth place with the Conservatives, behind Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and the Green Party.