Labour has lost control of one of its key Nottinghamshire councils with just months to go until the local elections after 20 people quit the party. A shock announcement by longstanding council leader Milan Radulovic also means that Labour is no longer the party of either administration or opposition at Nottinghamshire County Council.
Councillor Radulovic, who has led Broxtowe Borough Council on a Labour platform for over 20 years across several administrations, has jumped ship along with 19 of his fellow Labour councillors. It means Labour no longer runs Broxtowe Borough Council, having only regained the authority from a state of no overall control at the May 2023 local elections.
It follows months of public disagreement between Broxtowe’s Labour group of councillors and the national leadership under Sir Keir Starmer. Broxtowe Borough Council was the only Labour-led Nottinghamshire council to formally criticise the decision to start means-testing winter fuel payments.
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News of Labour losing control at Broxtowe was confirmed at an event in Beeston on Thursday (January 2), where Councillor Radulovic confirmed that he and colleagues will now be known as the Broxtowe Independents. With six of Broxtowe’s previous 26 Labour councillors remaining in the party, the new group does not have enough members to run the council alone.
The group is therefore set to run Broxtowe as a minority administration, meaning it will be dependent on the support of opposition parties to get measures passed. Councillor Radulovic’s announcement has been made with just months to go until the Nottinghamshire County Council elections in 2025.
As well as being a Broxtowe borough councillor, former Labour councillor John McGrath is also a member of Nottinghamshire County Council. The Conservative-run authority currently features two opposition parties in the form of Labour and the Nottinghamshire County Independent Group – with both parties previously even in terms of numbers.
Milan Radulovic, Broxtowe Borough Council’s leader
(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
Yet Councillor McGrath’s departure from Labour now means the party is no longer the official opposition at the county council – the first time that Labour has not formed either the administration or opposition at the authority. The upcoming elections at the county council have been another source of disagreement between Broxtowe Labour and the national party.
It was confirmed in November that several Broxtowe Labour members had been unsuccessful in standing for the party at the May 2025 elections, with Councillor Radulovic having said at the time: “It seems to be a centrist purge on people that are good, hard-working local councillors and representatives.”
Councillor Radulovic said he and his colleagues had not been elected to “blindly follow” government policy. Past disagreements also included claims in 2023 that Labour had blocked the Broxtowe Labour group’s access to a bank account used to fund a Beeston community hub, which ended up closing.
Earlier in 2023, the entire selection committee and executive committee within Broxtowe’s constituency Labour party resigned following Labour’s decision to “block” a longstanding member from standing in the general election. Greg Marshall had stood as Labour’s candidate in two general elections but was not allowed to do so in 2024.
Asked previously why it had now blocked Broxtowe Labour members from standing in the 2025 elections, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “We do not comment on the selection process of individuals. The Labour Party has a vigorous selection process to ensure we have the highest calibre of candidates standing at the local elections”.
Broxtowe Labour Councillors said: “It is incredibly disappointing that some Broxtowe councillors have decided to leave the Labour Party and sit as independents when they were elected on a Labour ticket just over 18 months ago. These defections have no effect on the commitment of the remaining Labour councillors in serving our residents.
“We, together with our Labour colleagues including MPs Juliet Campbell and Alex Norris, will continue to work to make Broxtowe a healthier, greener, safer and more prosperous place for everyone as change begins under this Labour government”.