A south London councillor has quit the Labour Party after accusing it of fostering a “toxic culture of bullying” and “pandering to the far right” while stirring up racial tensions.
Martin Abrams, a Lambeth councillor for Streatham St Leonard’s ward since 2022, announced his resignation on social media on Thursday (August 28).
In an official statement, Cllr Abrams said he was “shocked at how bad things have become” under the leadership of Keir Starmer and after one year in Government. Cllr Abrams said: “Keir Starmer is now breaking records for unpopularity and is rolling out the red carpet for Nigel Farage and Reform.
“Labour is now pandering to the far right, by scapegoating migrants and the most vulnerable in our society, deliberately stirring up racial tensions caused not by migrants but 45 years of failed neoliberalism.”
He added: “The Government is complicit in the ongoing Gaza genocide, providing military intelligence and support to Israel whilst at the same time criminalising dissent and peaceful protest which has now led to the ridiculous and shameful spectacle of the mass arrests of pensioners under the Terrorism Act.”
He went on to say he was “appalled” that a “toxic culture of bullying, racism, sexism, disablism and factionalism” which he claimed has been allowed and encouraged to fester in the party under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Cllr Abrams is Jewish, and was suspended by Lambeth Labour in February 2024 after he voted for a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He says due to the ongoing suspension, he has been blocked from re-standing as a Labour candidate in the 2026 local elections.
Cllr Abrams said: “As an Anti-Zionist Jewish person who was always taught to stand with the oppressed and never the oppressor, this vote was a matter of conscience for me and I am proud I took this stance.”
Cllr Abrams added: “I still have huge amounts of energy, passion and ambitions for Streatham and to be that voice in Lambeth Council that always stands up for the whole community and I look forward to continuing this work.”
He will now sit as an independent councillor. Lambeth Labour was contacted for comment.
