Mayor of Doncaster 'quits Labour Party' » Local government » 24dash.com

The Mayor of Doncaster has left the Labour Party to register with a separate political group, according to a Labour spokesman.

Martin Winter, 46, has been warned by Labour to rejoin the party or consider himself automatically excluded.

The mayor is thought to have registered a new independent party with two other councillors.

A Labour spokesman said: "It has come to our attention that Martin Winter and two other Labour councillors have registered as members of a separate political group.

"This is therefore a clear breach of party rules. The Labour Party have today given all three members involved 14 days to re-register as a member of the recognised Labour Group.

"If they fail to do so, they are automatically considered to have excluded themselves from party membership."

The mayor, who was unavailable for comment, is expected to explain his position at a meeting of the council's Labour group on Wednesday.

Mr Winter became the first elected mayor of Doncaster in 2002 and was re-elected in 2005.

Labour has the largest share on Doncaster Council with 27 seats, while independents have 15, Liberal Democrats 12 and Conservatives nine.