- Councillor: Reginald Popoola, Queen’s Head and Nunhead ward.
- Tenure: Representing since 2022.
- Action: Resigned from Labour Party.
- Role: Deputy Cabinet member for Landlord Services.
- Statement: Called it a “difficult decision”.
- Reason: Principles align with Green Party values.
Cllr Reginald Popoola, who has served as the representative for Queen’s Head and Nunhead ward since 2022, stated that leaving the Labour Party and his position as Deputy Cabinet member for Landlord Services was a “difficult decision” and that his personal views are more in line with those of the Green Party.
In response, Southwark Labour stated that Cllr. Popoola joined the Green Party “over his abandonment of his duties to local residents” following the start of disciplinary procedures.
A spokesperson for Southwark Labour said:
“It has been clear for quite some time that Cllr Popoola’s thoughts have been focused on the future of his own political career, rather than on his residents, colleagues or responsibilities within the council. Southwark Labour took every opportunity to support Cllr Popoola but ultimately had to take the difficult step to initiate disciplinary proceedings over his abandonment of his duties to local residents – especially his disregard for his essential housing portfolio role.
It was at this stage that he joined the Green Party, rather than explain his absence from his taxpayer-funded role.”
Cllr Popoola claimed he could not “in good conscience continue to be a member of the Labour Party” and that the Green Party provides “a message of real hope and change” in a letter to Southwark Council’s Labour leader, Cllr Sarah King.
Cllr Popoola said:
“From demonising migrants for political gain, continued austerity hurting the most vulnerable and the rigging of internal Southwark Council elections, the party has turned its back to the many in favour of the few.
I am a Black working class man from Southwark who has seen the damage that these actions have on our diverse communities in Southwark. Our residents know that Labour has turned their back on improving the fundamentals of their lives, loading on harm to those at the bottom in favour of those at the top.”
Cllr. Popoola says he intends to run for reelection in the Rye Lane ward council elections in May 2026 and will serve out the remainder of his term as a Green councillor. Following the resignations of former Labour Chair Kath Whittam in November and Cllr Sam Foster in December, Cllr Popoola is the third Labour councillor to join the Greens in just two months.
After 42 years in the Labour Party, Cllr. Whittam defected to the Greens on November 5. Due to a tumultuous leadership contest last summer that saw three leaders in a single week, Cllr. Whittam declared her resignation from the party.
Exactly one month later, on December 5, Cllr. Foster of the Faraday ward defected to the Greens, blaming Labour’s “fascistic” position on asylum seekers, the elimination of jury trials, and the party’s dilution of its workers’ rights agenda.
There are sixty-three council members on Southwark Council. There are now three Greens, three independents, eleven Liberal Democrats, and forty-six Labour council members. Darren Merrill, Laura Johnson, and Ketzia Harper are the independents.
How have Southwark Labour leaders responded to his defection?
Southwark Labour leaders, led by Council Leader Sarah King, have n’t issued a detailed public disproof to Cllr Reginald Popoola’s dereliction but dismissed it internally as a tone- serving move prioritizing his” particular political future” over residers’ requirements.
In response to his abdication letter criminating the party of migratory demonization, austerity, and election apparel, King’s group emphasized delivering on core original precedences like casing and services, framing Popoola as the fifth councillor to abdicate since the summer leadership extremity without addressing his specific claims.
Liberal Democrat leader Victor Chamberlain subsidized the news, declaring Labour in” freefall” and unfit on casing given Popoola’s former deputy party, while Greens hailed him as a talented addition amid their original earnings.
