Black Country Party councillor Peter Drake is leaving the group to sit as an independent member of Dudley Council.
Cllr Drake was first elected in 2019 as a Labour councillor for Coseley East but left in early 2025 to join a group of independent councillors in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and government policies.
The Dudley Independent Group, led by former Dudley Labour leader Cllr Pete Lowe, then became the left-leaning Black Country Party.
Cllr Drake, who was deputy leader of the Black Country Party, said: “I have huge respect for my colleagues with whom I collaborated as part of Dudley Independent Group after leaving Labour and then as part of The Black Country Party.
“However, it has become increasingly obvious that many of my beliefs and opinions do not align with those of The Black Country Party.
“The Black Country Party holds to progressive attitudes on matters such as migration, diversity and multi-culturalism.
“It is impossible to reconcile these with my concerns regarding the consequences of mass migration and reckless mismanagement of what is probably the largest movement of peoples in human history.”
Cllr Drake added he recognises The Black Country Party is dedicated to protecting public services but he believes it is ‘wrong on the grim national issues of the current day’.
He said: “The strength of democracy is that we can blend our different outlooks into finding a path through the most dreadful of calamities.
“I will be working alongside political representatives across the Dudley borough to find those paths to a brighter future, but sadly not as a member for The Black Country Party.
“I will continue to work for the people of Coseley to the best of my ability as their councillor and do everything in my power to help improve their lives and the state of our community.”
The resignation leaves The Black Country Party with just two sitting councillors, Cllr Lowe, who is currently Dudley’s mayor, and Cllr Steve Edwards.
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