Labour Councillor Suspended in Wolverhampton – Labour Party Initially Refuse to Say Why
Another Labour Councillor has had the whip removed pending an investigation, joining the growing number of Labour Councillors across the country who have been suspended in the past few months.
Celia Hibbert, who was re-elected to Wolverhampton Council's Penn Ward in last month's local elections, has been suspended for 'Unspecified Reasons.'
It implies that, pending the outcome of the investigation, she will be unable to attend Labour group meetings or participate in decision-making.
She will still be regarded a Labour councillor and will be entitled to attend and vote at full council meetings.
Local Labour sources stated that Councillor Hibbert had been suspended for 'Unspecified Reasons' and had been advised of the decision.
Since 2018, Councillor Hibbert has held the Penn seat. She was previously suspended by the city's Labour group in October 2021, allegedly for voting against the group whip and encouraging other councillors to do the same.
After her suspension was overturned by provincial party bosses, she had her whip reinstated the following month.
Councillor Hibbert campaigned unsuccessfully for parliament in the Harborough constituency in 2019, and was named last year as a beneficiary of a grant from the MotheRED project, which aims to assist mothers with the costs of running for election as a Labour MP.
She declared last year that she had applied for the Labour Party's nomination for Wolverhampton South West in the next general election, and she was also linked to a run for Stoke Central.
Hibbert landed herself in hot water with senior party bosses after attempting to jump ship and join the city's Liberal Democrats, it was revealed. Hibbert, who represented Penn ward, had a meeting with the chair of Wolverhampton Lib Dems Julian Donald on the 10th of August 2021, to ask about joining the party and sitting as a councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate.