Councillors Malcolm Mildren and Jean Hawkins announced yesterday morning that they had quit the party and would now serve as independent members on Northampton Borough Council.

Their decisions came after the yet-to-be-appointed leader of the authority, Councillor Brian Hoare (Lib Dem, Abington) announced he would keep former leader Tony Woods (Lib Dem, St Davids) in the authority's ruling cabinet, despite the recent controversy.

Councillor Mildren (Ind, Parklands) said he could not live with the decision, following the embarrassment caused to the party by the affair, which revolved around Councillor Woods' decision to leave his un-taxed Astra in the Guildhall's town centre car park for more than three months despite numerous requests to move it.

He said: "This whole thing has become much bigger than the car.

"To me, it's all about the way he dealt with the issue and the fact he allowed a molehill to become a mountain.

"It was symbolic of a leader who was not aware of what people were thinking."

Following the fallout of Astragate, Councillor Woods decided to resign as leader, but delayed his exit until next week, a fact which has been criticised by his detractors.

Councillor Mildren said: "When he resigned, he should have left immediately – rather than stay on as leader.

"And now we know he's going to be propelled immediately back into the cabinet, probably doing pretty much what he was before."

Following Councillor Woods' decision to resign, Councillor Hoare was chosen as the new leader of the Liberal Democrat group during a party meeting last week.

Despite the criticism of his decision to keep Councillor Woods in his cabinet, he wished both defecting councillors well, adding: "I'm very sorry to lose Malcolm and Jean.

"Both have been supportive of the changes we've made to Northampton, and are clearly leaving for personal reasons. Nonetheless, they will be missed and we wish them well."

Councillor Woods said last night: "I am very sad that Malcolm and Jean have decided to leave our group. They have both been valued members of the team.

"Since joining us from the Tories, Malcolm has seemed happy as Larry. It is difficult to understand why he is leaving us and sad to see him so bitter. That is not the Malcolm we all know and respect."

The new leader of the council and any cabinet changes will be made official during a meeting of the authority next Monday.