One of the most prominent left-wing members of Welsh Labour has resigned from the party after 35 years, denouncing the direction it has taken under the leadership of Keir Starmer.

Darren Williams, who heads the PCS union in Wales and co-founded the Welsh Labour Grassroots group, said in a letter to Sir Keir: “After 35 years’ continuous, active Labour membership – including time spent on the National Executive Committee, the Welsh Executive Committee, the National Policy Forum and as a Cardiff councillor – I have cancelled my direct debit today, as I can no longer bear to remain in a party that treats its members, representatives and voters with such contempt.

“I have witnessed some pretty unedifying behaviour by various party leaders over the years but you have outdone them all. Your abandonment of all the pledges on which you originally stood for the leadership was shameless enough but you have proceeded to water down policy commitments on green investment and workers’ rights, among other areas, while failing to take a clear moral stance against the Tories’ inhuman attacks on refugees and migrants or against Israel’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza.