A Conservative councillor has been suspended from the party less than 24 hours after being elected. Coun Shahbaz Arif was re-elected to represent Bury West ward on Bury council earlier this month.
Coun Arif, who previously served as the chief whip for the Bury Conservative group, was elected to the council for the first time last year.
He held on to his seat at this year's election, receiving 1,596 votes - almost 500 more than his nearest rival. However, Coun Arif was not present at the count on May 5 and the result was announced in his absence. READ MORE: Dog mauls man to death - before armed police shoot it dead He is now listed as an independent councillor on the council's website.
Coun Russell Bernstein, the leader of Bury Conservatives, confirmed that Coun Arif had been suspended from the party. In a statement issued on May 6, he said: "The Conservative Whip has been withdrawn from Councillor Shahbaz Arif.
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