Dr Yukteshwar Kumar has announced that he is resigning as a Liberal Democrat Councillor and that he now intends to sit as an Independent.

A press release from Bath and North East Somerset Liberal Democrats states that the decision ‘concerns various allegations made by Dr Kumar which have been thoroughly investigated by an independent barrister on behalf of B&NES Council, as well as by the Police and by the Liberal Democrats’ independent complaints process’. The Liberal Democrats say each investigation failed to uphold any of the complaints.

Due to impending court cases, the Liberal Democrats say they will not be commenting further at this time.

Cllr Dr Kumar is a Ward Councillor for Bathwick, elected in 2019, and is the current Deputy Mayor of Bath. He is also the Member Advocate for BAME issues for Bath & North East Somerset Council. Dr Kumar was the first person to be elected as a Councillor of B&NES from an Indian descent and is the first person of Asian heritage to take the role of Deputy Mayor of the City of Bath.

Cllr Dr Kumar was voted as the most influential

person in Bath in 2020 by The Bath Chronicle and is a senior

academic at the University of Bath.