A former council leader who previously quit the Labour Party due to anti-Semitism will stand as a candidate for the party in the local elections.

Warren Morgan, who served as the Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council from 2015 to 2018, will return to local politics as a candidate for the new Westdene and Hove Park ward.

Mr Morgan had previously quit the Labour Party in 2019, citing a “toxic culture of aggression and bullying”. He rejoined the party in late 2021.

In an announcement on Twitter, he said: “These are vitally important elections locally and nationally and I couldn’t just sit them out.

“I want to show my support for Labour under Keir Starmer and for the excellent team of candidates standing locally.”

Mr Morgan said that people across the city should send a message to the Conservatives that “no seat is safe and that nationally their time is up”.

He also slammed the Green Party and said they had saddled the council with millions in debt while “neglecting basic services”.

“The city badly needs committed, competent and innovative leadership and Labour is offering that in May’s local elections,” Mr Morgan said.

He will contest the ward along with fellow Labour candidates Lundy Mackenzie, the chair of Brighton and Hove Young Labour, and Ben Philipsborn.

After quitting the Labour Party, Mr Morgan stood as a candidate for the European Parliament elections in 2019 for the short-lived centrist Change UK party. The party placed sixth for the South East England region with 4.17 per cent of the vote.

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Mr Morgan’s announcement comes after the Conservative Party announced its candidates for the Westdene and Hove Park ward, with Councillor Samer Bagaeen, Emma Hogan and Ivan Lyons running in May for the party.

The party has defended the decision to select Mr Lyons, a financial adviser, after he previously stood down as a council candidate for posting a series of offensive jokes online.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party praised Mr Lyon’s “local knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm”.

Voters across Brighton and Hove will go to the polls to elect 54 councillors on May 4.