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Half of Enfield council’s cabinet has stood down in an escalation of a bitter “civil war” within the local Labour party.

The deputy leader of the Labour-run council, Daniel Anderson, is among five councillors not to stand for re-election over concerns of breached party rules.

The local party has been dogged by warring factions since Nesil Caliskan was appointed as council leader last summer, ending the 10-year rule of the previous administration.

In Enfield, cabinet members must be re-elected at an annual meeting by the local Labour Group and the council leader allocates their roles.

But a statement, signed by 14 Labour councillors, said that “correct procedures” for member involvement had not been followed in the run-up to the AGM on May 7.

Council sources have likened the situation to a “civil war” while others have called it “intolerable”.

Cllr Caliskan said the latest row was “sour grapes” from an “old guard”.

She said: “Sour grapes from individuals who have lost out on positions is nothing new ... The overwhelming majority of Enfield Labour Group is focused on delivering our radical agenda at the council.”