Greenwich councillor agrees to quit Labour after dispute

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Service

A Greenwich councillor has left the Labour Party following an unspecified complaint he made last July, with the party asking that he stand down from his position as a result.

Councillor Chris Lloyd, representing the West Thamesmead ward, resigned his Labour Party membership on December 29, and is now listed as an Independent on the Greenwich council website.

The councillor said: “It’s true that I did leave the Labour Group last week. It was in response to a complaint that I made many months ago and I didn’t feel like it was getting satisfactorily progressed and resolved.”

Cllr Lloyd said the complaint was initially filed last July to the Labour Party, with the Greenwich Labour Group being made aware of the topic.

He added that he had already told the local Labour group that his current term would be his last and that he did not plan to stand for another election.

A Labour Party source said: “This councillor won his seat on a party ticket. It’s now only right that the people of West Thamesmead should be able to go to the polls again and decide who represents them.”

Cllr Lloyd was elected to Greenwich council in 2014, and has represented the West Thamesmead ward since 2022. He previously ran as a parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party in North Swindon in 2022 and in Brecon & Radnorshire in 2010.

Greenwich council and the Greenwich Labour Group have declined to comment.

Picture: Councillor Chris Lloyd, shown at a planning board meeting for Greenwich council in September 2023. (Picture: Greenwich council)