Benefit fraud Staffordshire Labour councillor resigns from Labour Party

A benefit fraudster Labour councillor in Stafford has resigned from his party, ostensibly because of the Stafford hospital scandal and not the benefits fraud.

Cllr Ian Hollinshead, who sits on Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough Council, failed to declare a change in his circumstances and was overpaid £8k in benefits over a 3 year period. He repaid the money he wasn't entitled to and avoided prosecution.

Hollinshead says that he and his wife have resigned from the Labour Party so they can support efforts to save Stafford hospital from closure and that the publicity around his benefit fraud has nothing to do with the decision.