AN INDEPENDENT Radcliffe councillor has caused a political storm after joining the Green Party.

Daisy Bailey, who represents Radcliffe East, this week became Bury Council’s first Green councillor, but is already facing calls to stand down and trigger a by-election.

Cllr Bailey and husband Matt, a former councillor who lost his seat at last month’s local elections, severed ties with the Labour Party and became independents last September after a row over their poor meeting attendance record.

She said of her decision to switch to the Greens: “When I became an independent councillor, I had the best interests of my town, neighbours and residents at heart.

“However, there is a bigger agenda affecting people here, not least the prospect of five more years of austerity. I feel that while I will always put Radcliffe and its residents first, I have a responsibility to use my role to represent people and advocate on important national and global issues that impact people who live here.”

The change has angered members of other political parties, who argue that Cllr Bailey, who is up for re-election next year, has no elected mandate to serve as a Green Party member.

The Green Party finished fifth in the Radcliffe East election last month, behind Labour, the Conservatives, UKIP, and independent Matt Bailey.

Rishi Shori, Labour councillor and Bury Council deputy leader, said: “Daisy Bailey should stand down with immediate effect and if she wants to be a Green Party councillor she should let the electorate decide if that’s what they wish.

“At the last local elections, which were just over a month ago, the Green Party received only 4.9 per cent of the vote in Radcliffe East and came fifth, almost 1,600 votes behind the Labour Party.

“The Green Party can’t claim to have any elected mandate whatsoever and for Cllr Bailey to stay on as a Green Party representative is an affront to democracy.”

Cllr Shori also labelled the Bury Green Party “hypocrites”, after they themselves backed calls for by-elections to be held after the Baileys left the Labour Party last year.

Bury Green Party co-ordinator Nicole Haydock said: “With a substantial growth of our membership right across Radcliffe during and since the recent local election, Bury Greens have pledged to give their full support to Daisy in her work as councillor representing the people of Radcliffe East and the interest of the whole of the township.

“We are not going to ask her to stand down and her decision is to carry on.

“She will be submitted for re-election in May next year, and she thinks she can better serve the people who elected her in the first place by being a member of the Green Party.

“We respect her decision and are going to do all we can to make sure she can do more as a councillor than she could before.”

Cllr Bailey added: “My politics has always been based on values of fairness and in that respect nothing has changed, but now I haven’t got a big party machine behind me telling me how to vote.

“The Labour Party has a very difficult time in Bury with the cuts that are being made, and there has to be an alternative to that."

Referring to Green Party calls for her to stand down last year, she said: “I have no concerns. At the time, the Green Party saw an opportunity for themselves and I have no problem with that.

“They have seen that Radcliffe inparticular needs a different kind of representation and I will now be able to provide that."