A LABOUR councillor who quit the party over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has said he will resist calls to defend his seat at a by-election.

Brighton and Hove City Councillor Michael Inkpin-Leissner has said he will stand by the Labour administration as an independent.

Opposition councillors and trade unions have called for the Hollingdean and Stanmer councillor to do “the right thing” and test voters’ faith in him as an individual at the ballot box.

His party have also backed by-election calls saying Labour-voting residents may feel “short changed” with an independent.

The German-born councillor resigned over Jeremy Corbyn’s “lacklustre” resistance to Brexit and attempts to root out anti-Semitism with “the final straw” a link-up with former Communist party Die Linke in his homeland.

He will be the first independent to sit on the council since May 2015 when Christina Summers, ousted by the Greens in 2012 after voting against same-sex marriage, lost her seat.

He is the second councillor to leave the Labour minority administration this term after Maggie Barradell resigned in June for family reasons.

Jon Rogers, Brighton Pavilion Constitency Labour Party (CLP) chairman, said the party was saddened to learn of the councillor’s decision and regretted he did not discuss his concerns with his local party.

He added: “Michael was elected as a Labour councillor, people voted for a Labour councillor and might feel short changed if they now get an independent councillor.”

Conservative Steve Bell said he was “astounded” by Cllr Inkpin-Leissner’s decision to not represent the party residents had elected him under while the GMB called on him to stand down, asking why he had resigned 18 months into Mr Corbyn’s leadership.

Cllr Inkpin-Leissner said: “We talked about my doubts within the Labour group so it shouldn’t be a surprise and of course they tried to talk me out of it.

“I support the local administration but I cannot be in the Labour Party that does not support EU residents, that accepts anti-Semitisim, that is totally unacceptable.

“One has to stand up for one’s principles. I know I was elected by a lot of members of other parties as well.

“I will keep this administration stable and I will not be giving up my seat on the council, they can shout as much as they want, it won’t change a thing.”