Councillor caught up in Ratesgate row quits Labour

statement to attack colleagues and leaders.

“I am fed up of the Labour Party playing games,” she said.

“There is much uneasiness within the Kirklees Labour Group at the moment and the leadership should be brought to task over claims of bullying and racist comments.

“I thought socialism was about equality and fairness not about who knows who or whether you’re middle class or not.

“How on earth can you, on one hand, supposedly represent the most vulnerable when as a group you are not tolerant enough to understand each other’s problems and use those problems to bring someone to the depths of despair?”

Leader of Kirklees Council, Clr David Sheard, said he had “no clue” what Clr Calvert’s bullying and racism claims were about.

Referring to her years of problems paying her council tax bills and her comments about her problems, he said: “We did as much as we could to

help. “The party helped her through her court case – we supported her through that.

“I chose her as my deputy and showed confidence in her even though she’d tried to depose me as leader.” Clr Sheard agreed the party had failed her by leaving her in limbo so long. “The party’s been atrocious at dealing with this,” he said. “But that’s totally out of our hands.

“I think it should have been sorted much earlier.”

Clr Calvert said she has worked hard for her community throughout her 25 years on the council.

She chaired the regeneration board DBI Ltd from 1997 to its end in 2016, which is credited with redeveloping the Brackenhall estate, leaving a £140,000 surplus for a new community group, Ashbrow Partnering Together.

She was Mayor of Kirklees in 2007/08 and raised £52,000 for her charity The Forget Me Not Trust, which helped to pay for the acquisition of the land where the children’s hospice now stands. This was the largest amount any mayor had raised at that time.

Clr Calvert

The party’s been atrocious at dealing with this but that’s out of our hands.

personal issues over the last few years but I have never let down the community I represent.

“I will continue to serve the community until my term of office ends in May 2018.”

Clr Calvert is the second female Labour councillor to have quit the party this year, following Clr Amanda Stubley.

Clr Stubley was subsequently expelled from the council after not attending any meetings for six months.

A by-election to fill her Batley East seat will take place next month.