Lloyd Russell-Moyle has membership restored after being suspended from the Labour Party

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, former MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven, has had his membership restored after being suspended from the Labour Party. Just before the 2024 General Election, Russell-Moyle, who is openly gay, was forced to stand down as MP of the constituency after after a “vexatious and politically motivated complaint” saw him receive an “administrative suspension letter” from the party.

In a statement published on Facebook, Russell-Moyle said: “I am pleased to announce that in the final weeks of December, I received a letter from the Labour Party informing me that the complaint against me, which I said at the time was “vexatious, politically motivated and designed to disrupt the election”, had been dropped and the party has no remaining case against me. My membership of the Party has been restored.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my team in 2024 following a very difficult year, in which I was undemocratically removed as the local MP and they lost their jobs.

“This complaint has had a deep and lasting impact on me and my health, but with this ordeal now over, I am looking forward to putting this year behind me with my reputation restored and my head held high.

“Local Labour members, constituents who still stop me in the street, and people in the wider cooperative, Labour, and trade union movement stood by me from day one. This support helped me get through this stronger and more resilient than ever.

“At the start of 2024, I was looking forward to becoming a Labour/Co-op MP in a Labour government. I had been selected to introduce a bill on banning conversion therapy, and I genuinely felt that my work was beginning to help shape the potential Labour Government’s stance on housing, energy, and climate issues, as well as scrutinising the Cabinet Office and constitutional matters.

“We were making steady progress. I am disappointed not to have been able to continue this important work. In 2015, we had just five Labour councillors in the constituency, by the time of the 2024 election, we had 21 Labour councillors and only two independents. My brand of politics had won people over from all sides because I cared and worked with people of all backgrounds.

“I loved spending time in my local area, visiting local schools, meeting community groups and residents’ associations. I was not afraid to speak out when I saw injustice and always put my community before personal position or party. We saved libraries, fixed roads, and changed policies that people raised with me when they were wrongly implemented—I used my time in Parliament to improve the lives of people who live in my home town.

“As I am no longer an MP, I need paid employment, and I have to consider my future. I am now actively looking for new ways to contribute to society, exploring new careers that are fulfilling, do good, and reflect the values that I espoused whilst I was your MP.

I want to say thank you to all those who helped me get through this horrid year. Those who supported me and stayed loyal to me—it meant a lot. I will always remember your support.

“I’ve been reminded not to comment on details of disciplinary processes and therefore I do not intend to say more on this topic at this time.”