Coventry MP called 'squatter' by ousted councillor

An ousted Labour councillor has called Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana a "squatter" as he announced his intention to stand in the next general election.

Jim O'Boyle, who lost his seat on Coventry City Council after Thursday's local election, said he had "every intention of carrying on" and wanted to become Labour's candidate for the Coventry South Seat.

Sultana was re-elected as a Labour MP in 2024 but later stripped of the whip just months after the general election for backing a move to scrap the two-child benefit cap. She left the party in 2025 to form Your Party with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Sultana has been approached for a response.

Labour eventually agreed to scrap the child benefit cap from April.

"We had an elected Labour MP in 2024 who quickly left the Labour Party, and I think she's sitting there, squatting there, if you don't mind me saying," O'Boyle said.

He pointed to Sultana's support of a parliamentary bill in 2020 which said sitting MPs should face the prospect of a by-election if they change parties.

"Well, she's as good as a word, isn't she? And I will let it be known today," the former councillor said.

"I want to put the name forward for that [seat]. But ultimately, there's processes to go through on that, it's for the party to make that available as and when."

O'Boyle previously lost out on the Labour nomination for the Coventry North East seat to Mary Creagh, who was subsequently elected as its MP.

He served as the city council's cabinet member for business, regeneration and climate change prior to his election loss.

In the role he oversaw several of the city's flagship projects such as the Very Light Rail tram development, the City Centre South regeneration and plans for a Gigafactory at Coventry Airport.

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