A Bradley Stoke town councillor who resigned from the Conservative Party in protest at alleged bullying of council officers has now joined the Green Party following a brief flirt with Labour.
As previously reported, Cllr Ed Rose quit the Conservative Party in May last year, accusing former mayor Cllr Tom Aditya and current mayor Tony Griffiths of unreasonable behaviour in their interactions with council staff.
At that time, Cllr Rose said he would continue to serve as an independent, but it has now come to light that he subsequently joined the Labour Party – the notification of this switch being received by the town clerk on 19th July 2022.
The move was the second instance of a town councillor switching from independent to Labour during the current administrative period, the previous case being that of Cllr Angela Morey (elected on an independent ticket in May 2021 and then joining Labour in November of the same year).
However, it appears that relations between Cllr Rose and the other two Labour members of the town council may not have been especially friendly as Rose was on the move again less than four months later – notifying the town clerk on 17th November 2022 that he had now joined the Green Party.
Cllr Rose joins Cllr Fabrizio Fazzino as the second Green Party member on the town council, the overall makeup of which is now ten Conservatives, two Labour, two Greens and one independent.
In a brief response to a query from the Journal, Cllr Rose said:
“Being independent was going no where.”
“Labour not much better, same type [of] people with same ugly characteristics.”
“I will be bowing out of politics. Too much fighting to do the right thing and right way. Get no support and no thanks.”
The latest development means that Cllr Rose has now held the colours of no fewer than four different political parties, having defected from the Conservative Party to UKIP in May 2012 before returning to the fold ahead of the May 2019 elections.
Upcoming elections
The next full elections for seats on Bradley Stoke Town Council (and South Gloucestershire Council) are scheduled to take place on Thursday 4th May 2023. Anyone interested in standing, whether on a party ticket or as an independent, can find information here:
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