By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
A former Nottingham Labour councillor has won an appeal against his expulsion from the party.
Hassan Ahmed, who represented the Radford ward, was expelled from Labour in March last year and was therefore unable to stand as a candidate for the party in the May elections.
Cllr Fozia Mubashar was subsequently elected in his place.
At the time it was alleged Mr Ahmed had previously involved himself with a group called Labour Against the Witchhunt.
The group has been denounced and banned by the Labour Party, having started campaigns against what it believes are politically-motivated allegations of anti-semitism within the party.
In a four-page statement published after his expulsion back in April last year, Mr Ahmed himself claimed he was expelled in a bid to “derail” plans he had to challenge the city council’s leader, David Mellen.
Mr Ahmed appealed the decision and is was confirmed on Thursday, March 14 that he has been allowed to rejoin the Labour Party by the National Executive Committee (NEC).
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’m back in the Labour Party.
“I’ve been part of the Labour movement for 40 years and I’ve never thought anything else. I’ve been critical but I’ve always felt it was my place.
“They turned down my appeal and I was going to go to court. Then they gave me more time and decided to uphold my appeal.”
On Monday, March 11, current leader Cllr Mellen informed Labour Group members he would not be standing for re-election as leader.
He said five years had been a “reasonable” amount of time in the role and that 60-hour work weeks were no longer sustainable for him.
While he acknowledged he regrets not asking more questions about Robin Hood Energy during his 11 years as an executive councillor, he also said he was proud of the reopening of Nottingham Castle and the opening of the new Central Library.
Speaking of his leadership, Mr Ahmed added: “I’ve known David since before he was a Labour councillor when he was a teacher.
“He is a hard-working man and very committed, but I feel all these challenges have been too big for him.”
East Midlands Labour said it would not be issuing a statement, but confirmed his appeal had been upheld and that he is again a Labour Party member.
