'Cronyism' is just one of the reasons the Mayor of Deal says he has resigned from the Labour Party after more than four decades.

Cllr Nick Tomaszewski made the shock announcement to his fellow members at the close of last night's full council meeting in Deal Town Hall.

The supporter of 47 years said he has cut up his membership card and returned it by post to the local Party's headquarters in Coombe Valley, Dover.

His departure comes just months after opposition leader, Mike Eddy, also left the Party because of bullying, he claimed.

Cllr Tomaszewski said: "I'm fed up of the internal wranglings and the cronyism, generally the sort of attitudes that Cllr Mike Eddy described.

"I'm not happy with the things that are going on and feel I can no longer support Labour on the town council, but I'm happy and privileged to continue to support the council as mayor and chairman.

"That hasn't changed."

Cllr Tomaszewski will continue as an Independent councillor for the Middle Deal ward until a new mayor is elected, following local elections, on May 13.

He says he will not be standing for re-election on May 2.

He said: "I will not be standing because of the certain things that are going on on the left side of the chamber.

"It doesn't preclude that I won't ever go back but it won't be under the Labour Party."

Cllr Stuart Parker, who joined Deal Town Council as an Independent last September says he believes there is "a lot of unrest among the Labour Party".

He said: "We were all very surprised when the mayor made his announcement.

"I think he has been an absolutely brilliant mayor and I'm really sorry that he feels he can't put himself forward again. He will be a great loss to the council."

A spokesman for Dover and Deal Labour Party said: "We are surprised and saddened that Nick Tomaszewski has decided to resign from the Labour Party.

"At the time of writing he has not indicated his reasons for doing this in his notification of resignation. We are grateful for the work he has done as a party member.

"There are two sides to any ‘wrangle’ and we do not intend to debate internal party matters in the press and Nick is aware of this.

"It is a matter of public record that when he was carrying out his duties in his role as Mayor and Chairman of the Town Council he voted against positions agreed by his fellow Labour town councillors on specific local policy issues.

"Of course people can hold opposing views in the same party, but we need to respect collective decisions as arrived at by a majority vote in council meetings.

"The Constituency Labour Party is committed to working for the good of all of the people in Deal, to the policies contained in our DDC manifesto, and specific policies related to Deal, which will be announced soon.

"We wish to accentuate the positive reasons for voting Labour, opposing austerity and ending years of Tory control. We will continue to work hard to achieve this goal."

Cllr Tomaszewski responded saying he has always voted on matters to avoid detriment to the people of Deal.

He said: "The chairman of the council must be non-partisan and apolitical as a matter of principle and in the interests of equity.

"I voted against the dithering of the majority Labour Group with regards to the funding of a cinema facility at the Astor Theatre.

"Deal Town Council voted against this and won by one vote.

"I, then, approached DDC and gained the necessary funding from that council thus saving our town £3,500 which could be spent on something else of value.

"There have been other issues with regard to a lack of communication and downright intimidation from the CLP (Constituency Labour Party) towards individual councillors.

"I cannot countenance this type of behaviour."

Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate Charlotte Cornell reacted: "I'm sad Nick has decided to leave the Labour Party, as personally we get on very well and he has always been an honest source of advice for me, welcoming me to many events in Deal.

"With local elections looming, councillors often decide to part ways with parties for many different reasons; I wouldn't like to speculate further on Nick's reasons for leaving - he hasn't reached out to me personally on this occasion.

"As we move forward, I'm looking forward to working with an excellent slate of Labour candidates who have been selected, each of whom are determined to improve opportunity and equality for the district's residents."

Cllr Mike Eddy stunned the area's political world with his departure in November 2018.

He claimed the push factors came from "a lot of nastiness in the Labour group" and a "constant stream of what I'd call bullying emails."

Now a Green Party councillor for Mill Hill, he said: "Nick has been an excellent mayor of the town, leading the town council with both humour and gravitas.

"It is sad to think that, after decades of loyal service to the Labour Party, Nick has joined the growing number of people leaving the local Labour Party because of the behaviour of a small clique."

Cllr Tomaszewski was born in Canterbury and moved to Deal in the 1960s. The former senior lecturer was elected onto the council following a by-election in June 2016.

He lives with his wife Muriel in of Church Lane, Deal, and the couple have four children and nine grandchildren.

His departure does not affect Labour's majority on Deal Town Council. The line up now consists of six Labour, four Conservative, one Green, one Liberal Democrat and three Independent members.