INDEPENDENT Labour councillor, Geoff Brodie, has slammed the IW Labour Party over its calls for members nationally to have a ballot on future relations with the EU.

An Island All Labour members meeting has overwhelmingly called for a ballot of the wider party's half million members and has criticised the Parliamentary Labour Party's (PLP) stance on Brexit.

However, Cllr Bodie, criticised the IW Labour Party for 'ignoring' the wishes of the majority of the wider electorate who decided to leave in June 2016.

Cllr Brodie said: "The Labour Party leadership nationally has always indicated democratically that the referendum result would be respected, but pressure from constituency parties like the Island's local Labour Party could lead to a reversal in policy at September's Annual Conference.

"Ironically two-thirds of Labour MPs represent constituencies that voted to Leave the EU. Here on the Island there was a very clear vote to Leave (62%) and the local Labour party is entirely out of step with local residents on this issue.

"As a then Labour councillor I campaigned for a Leave vote back in June 2016 and the vote in my ward reflected that. I was then re-elected to the IW Council for a fourth time in May 2017 with a large increase in support, when all other Labour candidates were losing. In January I left Labour largely over my isolation within the party over my opposition to the EU.

"Now that IW Labour has decided to campaign for a reversal of Labour's Leave policy, perhaps it is time for a 'Labour Pro-Leave' candidate on the Island at the next general election?

"Without one we would have candidates of the centre-left (IW Labour, Green, LibDem) who want to Remain and candidates of the right (Tory, Ukip) who want to Leave.

"Just because you are opposed to the EU doesn’t mean you have to vote Tory or worse. There are entirely socialist reasons for being anti-EU as well as the little-Englander arguments of the right. It is an entire nonsense to assert as IW Labour do that a Labour Government would be unable to implement manifesto policies outside the EU."