THE former deputy leader of Haringey's Labour council has sensationally stepped down as a councillor and this week launched a stinging attack on the Labour party.

Josie Irwin, who earlier this year rejected the role of deputy leader in protest at the Labour Government's stance on Iraq, has also handed in her membership of the party which she has supported since the age of 15.

Speaking to the Independent on Wednesday, Ms Irwin explained her reasons for leaving the council. She said: "I think there is a degree of contempt from council officers towards councillors which reflects a national contempt on the part of the Government for the role of councillors.

"It makes us feel devalued and I certainly feel demotivated. I am sick of being a whipping boy for Government policy failures and I am extremely concerned about the direction of the Labour party nationally."

She added: "I am genuinely sad and it was a difficult decision to make but I think it was the right one. I don't think it is right to stay in a party that is not the same one I joined when I was 15 years old."

Ms Irwin has also recently taken on more responsibilities at her job with the Royal College of Nursing and it was a combination of this with her feelings about the Labour party that brought about her final decision.

Her fellow councillors in the Stroud Green Ward, Katherine Wynne and Andrew Krokou, released a joint statement this week. They said: "We are obviously disappointed that Josie has stepped down as a councillor at a time when Haringey Council successes, around school performance, the environment and parking regulations, are making a positive difference for residents of Stroud Green.

"Juggling full-time work with the commitments of a modern councillor is, for many, a difficult balance to strike. We share Josie's view that to be an effective councillor requires sufficient time in which to do the job and wish her every success for the future."

The Haringey Liberal Democrats are hoping to win the vacant seat from Labour in the upcoming by-election. The group's parliamentary spokeswoman Cllr Lynne Featherstone said: "In her damning criticisms, Josie Irwin has delivered a telling verdict on both the Labour party and the Labour council.

"The Lib Dems are looking forward to the coming by-election when the voters in Stroud Green will be eager to give their verdict on the shambles that we think Labour has become."

The by-election is likely to be held early in the New Year.