Two Teignbridge Conservatives resign to sit as independents

Two Conservative councillors in Devon have resigned from the party and are now sitting as independents.

Teignbridge District councillors Joan Lambert and Lorraine Evans have left the Conservatives saying they couldn't represent the people that elected them whilst remaining members of the party. It means that Conservatives now run a minority administration with 22 out of 46 councillors.

This is a common thing with councillors leaving both the Conservatives and Labour who whip their elected representatives right down to the lowest level, preventing them from representing the interests of their local area if it conflicts with party policy. This is one of the biggest differences with UKIP - we have no whip at any level and all UKIP elected representatives from MEPs down to parish councillors are expected to do what they think is right, not what the party tells them to do.