A former Liverpool Labour councillor who rebelled to form a breakaway group has stormed to a 'stunning' victory over his old party at the local elections.
Councillor Alan Gibbons, who is the acting leader of Liverpool Community Independents, won over 1,400 votes in Orrell Park in the north of Liverpool. Cllr Gibbons, a former teacher and published children's author, first stood to be a Labour councillor in 2021 having been inspired by Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party.
He was elected as one of the councillors in the Warbreck ward, but was kicked out of the Labour Party after showing support for a newly proscribed left wing group. He had also already been suspended for his role in forming the Liverpool Community Independents group - a breakaway group of rebel Labour councillors - on Liverpool City Council.
READ MORE: Local Elections 2023 results Live from Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and across the country
With all out elections in Liverpool this year and 85 seats across 64 new wards up for grabs, Liverpool Community Independents were confident of Cllr Gibbons' victory in the new Orrell Park ward. When the ECHO spent a morning with Cllr Gibbons on his campaign trail last month, residents spoke highly of the 70-year-old's plans for the ward.
And their apparent support was reflected at the ballot box this morning, with Cllr Gibbons pulling in a huge amount of votes. Cllr Gibbons received 1,428 votes, while Mumin Khan, of Labour, only got 360. The Conservative candidate Mark Butchard received 27 and Collette McAllister, of the Lib Dems, received 40.
Reacting to his huge win, Cllr Gibbons said: "This is a stunning, historic result. From a standing start our new group won by a landslide in Orrell Park and registered a very encouraging second place in Croxteth Country Park, Old Swan West and Fazakerley East. This was without resources or access to the numbers of whipped councillors Labour has at its disposal. This is a springboard for our independent socialist group to fight for community-based, radical politics and to expose the bad governance and waste for which this city is sadly known. We hope and trust there will be further gains this afternoon."
Liverpool Community Independents will be hopeful of securing further seats when more ward results are announced later today. Sources have told the ECHO the party are targeting two seats in Garston, where both Sam Gorst and Lucy Williams are standing.
This morning's results have so far been dominated by Labour victories. Labour will be favourites to retain their majority in the council despite several years of scandals linked to the ruling party. They need 43 council seats to do so.
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