EARLESTOWN councillor Pam Howard has resigned from St Helens Borough Council.

The former Labour councillor, who joined The Independents in February, handed her resignation to the council’s chief executive on Monday.

Ms Howard told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that she would not be releasing a formal statement, but said she has stepped down for “health reasons”.

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Kath O’Dwyer, St Helens Borough Council’s chief executive, informed councillors and staff on Tuesday afternoon.

She also confirmed that a by-election would not be able to take place at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“As the legislation currently stands, a notice of vacancy must be published,” Ms O’Dwyer’s email said, which has been seen by the LDRS.

“However, if an election is requested a by-election will not currently take place due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“The vacancy will be held open until the next poll is able to take place.”

Ms Howard’s resignation marks the end of a short and turbulent spell on St Helens Borough Council.

A trade union official of many years, Ms Howard was elected to represent Earlestown in the 2019 local elections, pipping the Conservative and Green Party candidates to secure the seat.

Shortly after being elected, Ms Howard was named chief whip of the St Helens Labour Group.

Ms Howard became increasingly frustrated, particularly around the behaviour of some members of the Labour group and what she felt was a lack of support  in dealing with them in her role as chief whip.

In an effort to resolve the issues, Ms Howard turned to the regional arm of the party and even voiced her concerns with union officials, but this ultimately failed.

In October, less than six months after being elected, Ms Howard notified councillors of her decision to resign the Labour group whip with immediate effect to become an independent.

St Helens Labour said at the time that it takes any accusations of improper conduct “extremely seriously”, and said it would investigate any claims if presented with evidence.

The following month, Ms Howard faced increasing calls from the Earlestown and Newton-le-Willows Labour branches to relinquish her seat and contest it in a by-election.

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Ms Howard rejected these calls and aimed another shot at her former party, saying she “could not continue within a Labour group with such poor discipline.”

Then in February 2020, Ms Howard announced that she had joined The Independents, led by Rainhill councillor James Tasker.

Ms Howard’s resignation now means The Independents are down to two members.