Labour and Lib Dem councillors defect to UKIP

A Labour councillor in Barking & Dagenham and a Lib Dem councillor in Worthing have defected to UKIP this week.

Cllr Dee Hunt has been a Labour Party member for 25 years and a Labour councillor for 12 years. She has also been mayor of Barking & Dagenham. Cllr Hunt will join Cllr Robert Douglas - who defected from Labour to UKIP in September - to form a UKIP group on Barking & Dagenham Council.

Cllr Trevor England has been a Lib Dem councillor on Worthing Borough Council since 2010 and joins Cllr Charles James who was leader of Worthing Conservatives until he defected to UKIP in July. Cllr England cited UKIP's policy of not whipping its elected representatives as the deal clincher.