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Claims that backbench Labour councillors are being overlooked by the leadership have been inflamed with the resignation of a rank and file councillor.

Longbridge councillor Ian Cruise announced he had left the party complaining he found the squabbling and underhand deals too much.

Coun Cruise was once an ambitious and high-flying member of the Labour group but will now sit as an independent until his term of office ends in 2018.

The former Communications Workers Union official enjoyed a successful year after being elected as chairman of the council’s economy and jobs scrutiny committee in 2012, but has since been overlooked or rejected by colleagues in his pursuit of a top role.

Some ex-colleagues dismissed his resignation as the frustrated act of someone who missed out.

The move came as little surprise as over the last year the councillor had become increasingly distant from colleagues and more openly critical of the leadership.

In 2014, he won a second four-year term following a gruelling election campaign in which he saw off a strong challenge from º£½ÇÊÓƵIP.

But, in his parting comments, Coun Cruise complained not for the first time about bickering, squabbling and stitch-ups, saying too many in the Labour group were interested only in their own advancement and securing paid jobs rather than a pure pursuit of political change.