A Bradley Stoke town councillor elected as an Independent in a by-election held in May 2021 has announced that she has joined the Labour Party.
Cllr Angela Morey won the by-election, for one of the six seats representing the Bradley Stoke North ward, with 38.7 percent of the votes cast, ahead of the Conservative candidate on 36.7 percent and the Labour candidate on 24.0 percent.
Writing in a press release put out on 20th November 2021, Cllr Dayley Lawrence, a town councillor in Patchway and chairperson of the Bradley Stoke & Stoke Gifford Labour Party, said:
“On behalf of the Labour Party I’m delighted to welcome Cllr Angela Morey to our Labour family and I look forward to working with her for the benefit of everyone in Bradley Stoke. She is a real champion of our residents and has the best interests of community at heart. She believes and understands that our endeavours must be for the many and not the few.”
In the same press release, Cllr Morey was quoted as saying:
“I’m delighted to be joining the Labour Party at this exciting time in history, and thank everyone for my warm welcome.”
“Having taken the time to really consider my political alignments, I’m positive the Labour Party is the place for me, and feel privileged to be part of their diverse movement, dedicated to delivering a fairer, better society.”
Cllr Morey had earlier told the Journal:
“It was never my intention when I started this journey, and I’m conscious having won as an Independent I may get a bit of a backlash, but I just can’t sit quietly any longer having had more insight into our current situation.”
“I truly have made this decision with Bradley Stoke at heart. The current situation isn’t acceptable and I want to challenge it to improve our area and give our residents better value for money.”
In a video posted on her Facebook page, Cllr Morey added:
“I think it could be a great partnership. It certainly doesn’t affect any of my town councillor role. I’m still completely free thinking and I’m not being told what to vote for or anything like that.”
“And so, moving forward, watch this space. Nothing is going to change overnight or anything, but who knows?”
In more recent communications on her Twitter feed, Cllr Morey has posted about attending the Labour Party South West Conference and canvassing for Labour in Keynsham and Bradley Stoke.
Had an excellent time this weekend @UKLabour southwest conference, met so many inspirational individuals @PhilGaskin @ShabanaMahmood @darrenpjones @wesstreeting @ashleyrwsmith @MarvinJRees @votedannorris @karinsmyth pic.twitter.com/jn9b0LDmh2
— Cllr Angela Morey (@Cllr_Morey) November 28, 2021
Quietly turning Green
It has also come to light that another Bradley Stoke town councillor has recently changed his political party allegiance. Cllr Fabrizio Fazzino, elected on a Labour Party ticket in May 2019 to represent Bradley Stoke North, has resigned from Labour and become a member of the Green Party. The Journal understands that the switch occurred in August 2021. Asked for his reasons, Cllr Fazzino cited a “change in priorities” and declined to elaborate further.
The two councillor allegiance switches leave the town council with 11 Conservatives, 1 Labour, 1 Green and 1 Independent. There is currently one vacant seat following the passing of Cllr Michael Hill (Conservative) in November 2021.
The next full elections for seats on Bradley Stoke Town Council (and South Gloucestershire Council) are due to take place in May 2023.
