Labour mayor expelled from party

The Labour mayor of Doncaster has been expelled from the party after attempting to set up his own political group.

Michael Winter, barred from running for a third term under Labour rules, announced he was forming a new party earlier this month, along with two other councillors, and sacked the rest of his cabinet. He was sacked during a council meeting yesterday.

Independent party leader Garth Oxby described it as a “constitutional crisis”.

Doncaster is one of 12 councils run by an elected mayor. Labour has 27 seats, independents have 15, Liberal Democrats have 12 and the Conservatives only nine.