Mass resignation of Labour councillors in Redcar & Cleveland

The Labour Party in Redcar & Cleveland has all but collapsed after after its leader and half the council's Labour cabinet resigned en masse.

The councillors who have resigned are:

• Cllr George Dunning, leader of the council
• Cllr Sheelagh Clarke, deputy leader of the council
• Cllr Carole Simms, mayor of Redcar & Cleveland
• Cllr Steven Goldswain, cabinet member
• Cllr Mark Hannon, cabinet member
• Cllr Olwyn Peters, cabinet member
• Cllr Norman Pickthall, cabinet member and chair of Personnel & General Purposes committee
• Cllr Vic Jeffries, vice chair of the Health & Safety Advisory Group
• Cllr Brian Biggs, chair of Cleveland Fire Authority
• Cllr Wendy Wall, chair of Corporate Parenting Board and vice chair of Peoples Services & Improvement committee

The resignations leave Labour in a very precarious position with just 19 councillors out of a total of 49. If all 10 join the 11-strong Independent group, the independents will be the largest group on the council and in a position to take control of the council. Labour would have to team up with the 11 Lib Dems to hang on to power.