By Redaction Reporter
A TOWN councillor in Suffolk has become the second Labour party elected local representative to break ranks and join a new democratic socialist party.
Katie Parker, who represents the St Olaves ward on Bury St Edmunds Town Council, announced her departure of Labour in favour of the Breakthrough Party today.
The 46-year-old cited her disenchantment with the state of mainstream British politics as the reason for the move.
She said: “After being a staunch socialist my whole life and getting involved with local politics during the Jeremy Corbyn era, I have become incredibly jaded and cynical with all the mainstream political parties.
“I believe there is no alternative to a right wing government anymore. I lost my passion and no longer felt that I fit in with the Labour Party.
“I looked around at other groups but just concentrated on my council work- keeping the community at the heart of it all. This has worked, but I haven’t felt that same pride in who I represent as I did to begin with.”
Parker, who heard about Breakthrough through a family member, is the second councillor to join the party following Samantha Cooper of Keighley, West Yorkshire – who defected in August.
The Breakthrough Party was founded in January 2021 by former Labour member Alex Mays, hoping to offer an explicitly socialist alternative to the Labour Party.
[WATCH: Breakthrough Party founder Alex Mays discusses Labour and the future of socialism in the UK]
It has since contested the Chesham and Amersham by-election in June, finishing in sixth place.
Mays said: “As soon as I spoke to Katie I immediately knew that she’d fit right in at Breakthrough.
“She’s an incredibly passionate, working class woman who got into politics for all the right reasons, to support her community and to make the lives of the people there better.
“If we had 650 people like Katie in Westminster, the country would be a much better place.”
The Labour Party was contacted for comment.
Featured Image courtesy of the Breakthrough Party
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