Following the news that a Labour councillor in Salford has quit just months after winning a huge majority in the local elections, local opposition parties have their eye on the vacant seat.
Sharmina August, who represented the Eccles ward, announced earlier in the week that she has stepped down from her role at Salford City Council after working “100-hour weeks” across two jobs.
The former councillor was re-elected in May, winning more than 60 percent of votes in Eccles, and a majority of more than 1,500 over the Conservatives who finished second in the ward.
She held a senior role at the council, sitting in City Mayor Paul Dennett’s cabinet team as lead member for communities.
In a statement shared on X she said: “I have taken the tough decision to retire as councillor for Eccles. Working over 100 hours a week in two jobs is not sustainable, and I need to prioritise my and my family’s health.”
Ms August added: “I got involved in politics to try and make our world a better place. I hope I’ve done that in some small way for the people of Salford.
“Being a councillor can be tough, but I’m glad Salford will continue to have so many great people representing it, and serving the people of our city.”
Her resignation has sparked a new by-election in the Eccles ward, but Salford City Council said no date has been set for this yet.
Salford Conservatives stated their intentions to contest the seat.
Lewis Croden, chairman of the Salford, Worsley, and Eccles Conservative Association, said: “Following the unexpected resignation of the sitting councillor, the Conservative Association will move swiftly to ensure that our community is represented by someone who embodies our shared values of hard work, commitment, and service to the people of Eccles.”
Salford Lib Dems, who have two councillors in the Quays ward, also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they will contest the seat.
The two other council seats in Eccles are both held by Labour.
A Salford Labour spokesperson said: “Sharmina has been a hard-working and dedicated councillor for Eccles and a key part of the Mayor’s cabinet over the past few years.
“She will be sorely missed by Salford Labour Group and the wider Party.”
