A former Crewe and Nantwich MP has quit the Labour Party to become an independent socialist councillor, after being suspended by the local Cheshire East group.

Cllr Laura Smith, 39, who represents Crewe South on Cheshire East Council, posted on social media to say she had been suspended from Cheshire East's Labour group because she refused to support the Labour/Independent administration's budget at full council in February.

"I have decided to resign my membership of the UK Labour Party rather than appeal my recent suspension by the local Labour group at Cheshire East Council," she said.

Cllr Smith, who was elected as Crewe and Nantwich MP in 2017 after beating incumbent Conservative Edward Timpson by just 48 votes, lost the seat two years later to Dr Kieran Mullan (Wiki Commons).

"I was suspended for not voting in line with the whip but, as I stated at the council meeting on February 27, I cannot support an austerity budget that places local councillors as the punching bag for a Tory government determined to destroy public services."

Cllr Smith, who was elected as Crewe and Nantwich MP in 2017 after beating incumbent Conservative Edward Timpson by just 48 votes, lost the seat two years later to Dr Kieran Mullan.

In the post announcing her resignation from Labour, she described her time as an MP as 'an experience that I was always cherish and struggle with in equal measures'.

She said the political system had made her 'more cynical, less hopeful for a real alternative and unfortunately more worried for the future'.

The former Crewe MP was critical of Labour in her statement, claiming it has 'become a place where to have a thought in your head that differs to the Labour leadership and the officials behind the scenes is an offence that can lead to suspension or even expulsion.'

Cllr Laura Smith was voted in alongside Cllr Dawn Clark (Labour), for Crewe South in May 2023 (Cheshire East Council).

Cllr Smith has vowed to continue in her role as the Crewe South member on Cheshire East Council as an independent socialist councillor.

She was voted in alongside Cllr Dawn Clark (Labour), for Crewe South in May 2023.

READ MORE: Crewe takeaway hit with one-star food hygiene rating.

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