A councillor that serves one of Reading’s most populated areas has been expelled from the Labour Party.
Sarah Hacker represents Battle ward in west Reading, which covers a large stretch of the Oxford Road and its side streets. She is now an independent councillor.
A Labour spokesperson confirmed her expulsion, but did not provide an official statement.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has emailed and called Cllr Hacker for her comment. She replied that she will respond when she is able as the decision has had a “profound impact” on her.
According to the website LabourList, the party’s national executive committee has the power to ‘auto exclude’ members who also belong to groups Socialist Appeal, Labour in Exile Network, Labour Against the Witchhunt, Resist, the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, the Labour Left Alliance and the Socialist Labour Network.
Cllr Hacker was elected as a Labour councillor at the all out elections in 2022, being elected for a four-year term, receiving 1,410 votes.
All three councillors for Battle were Labour, with Wendy Griffith getting 1,330 votes and Gul Khan receiving 1,180 votes. Cllr Khan has retired from council life after first being elected in 2004.
The seat he is vacating is being contested by Amjad Tarar, the Labour candidate, Callum Harling from The Green Party, John Tattersall the Conservative candidate and John Grout from the Liberal Democrats.
Cllr Chris Maskell, a councillor for Battle ward was suspended from the party in January last year.
