Another Conservative councillor defects to UKIP in Spelthorne

A fifth Spelthorne Borough Councillor has defected to UKIP following Thursday's defection of four other councillors.

Cllr Kevin Flurry joined UKIP yesterday after the Conservative group leader kicked him out of their group. He becomes the fifth member of the new official opposition UKIP group on Spelthorne Borough Council.

Colwyn Bay Conservative councillors defect to UKIP

Two Colwyn Bay Conservative councillors have defected to UKIP.

Cllrs David and Lindsay Griffiths currently represent the Llandrillo yn Rhos and Eirias wards on Colwyn Bay Town Council but defected to UKIP this week. They said they were impressed by the determination and ambition of UKIP and how members are more involved in the local party.

Both councillors will contest Conwy County Borough Council seats in May for UKIP.

Maidstone independent councillor joins UKIP

An independent borough councillor in Maidstone has joined UKIP.

Cllr Gordon Newton has joined the UKIP group based on their local policies after his former colleagues in the independents group refused to oppose a number of large housing developments or support his efforts to protect greenfield sites.

Cambridgeshire Conservative County Councillor defects to UKIP

A Conservative county councillor in Cambridge has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Adrian Dent, who represents Bassingbourn division on the county council, said that the Conservative Party is not the democratic party he joined years ago and that he was forced to accept things that were bad for his ward and the people he was elected to represent because of the party whip.

Did you know?

UKIP doesn't operate a whip which means that its councillors are able to vote in the way that they consider to be in the best interests of the people they were elected to represent rather than how they are instructed to vote by the party whips.

The UKIP group on Cambridgeshire County Council now has 13 councillors, one short of the Lib Dems who form the second largest group. The Conservatives have a minority administration with 29 of the 69 councillors on the county council.

Antrim TUV councillor defects to UKIP

A TUV councillor in Antrim has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Donna Anderson's defection means there are now two UKIP councillors on Mid & East Antrim Council.

The political make-up of the council is now:

Party	Councillors
DUP	16
UUP	9
TUV	4
Alliance	3
Sinn Féin	3
UKIP	2
SDLP	1
Independents	2

Labour candidate defects to UKIP on the eve of the election

A Labour council candidate and full time campaign assistant to the Labour parliamentary candidate in Dover has defected to UKIP.

Georgie Ramsay chose the day before the most important and unpredictable election in living memory to resign from the Labour Party and join UKIP.

Labour councillor in Caerphilly defects to UKIP

Labour Community Councillor for Caerphilly, Cllr Bill Griffiths, has defected to UKIP.

DEFECTION ALERT: Caerphilly Labour Councillor Bill Griffiths from Gelligaer Community Council defects to #UKIP well done Bill!
Posted by Sam Gould on Wednesday, 29 April 2015

Conservative former leader of Cambridgeshire County Council defects to UKIP

Former leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, Nick Clarke, has defected back from the Tories to UKIP.

Clarke was a UKIP parliamentary candidate many years ago who defected to the Conservatives and went on to become leader of the council. He lost his seat in the 2013 local elections when UKIP routed both the Conservatives and Lib Dems, taking 12 seats on the council.

UKIP has the clarity of vision and drive to sustain the Britexit argument over the longer term, not just for one election, or one referendum but for much longer if necessary.

This is absolutely necessary if we are to protect our way of life for our children and our grandchildren.

In my lifetime the UK population has been in the 40 millions. Today according to  the ONS figures it is 64m and rising. In 2012 we had 498,000 long term migrants resulting in net migration of 158,000. Where does it end.

UKIP celebrate migration. Attracting the very best people from around the world is a great thing.
But unrestricted migration from the EU is a bad thing, placing sever demands on our public services and needing ever more houses to be built.

We need a points system like Australia. To  get this we need to leave the EU. This is not about race, creed, sex, politics but about numbers. Our small island is filling up.

Cambridge would benefit from a points based system allowing the very best to study here, from around the world, and then go on to stay and run successful companies.

But it is not just about Europe.

I'm Frustrated with the Conservative party – A feeling that the political classes based in London are increasingly out of touch with real people.

You can read the rest of his very eloquently put reasons for joining UKIP on his blog.

English Democrats candidate defects to UKIP

An English Democrat candidate in Kettering has defected to UKIP.

Kevin Sills has represented the English Democrats at a number of elections but realised that he wants "our country to be free and independent and now realise that UKIP offers the best pathway for this ambition".

The English Democrats switched from supporting an English Parliament within the union to English independence a couple of years ago. At one time they had a very active membership in the north of England and were able to secure the mayoralty of Doncaster with Peter Davies. A huge influx of BNP members and a significant lurch to the far right drove Davies and most of their active campaigners out of the party.

The chairman of the English Democrats, solicitor Robin Tilbrook, launched a vexatious defamation case against me for a blog post written on Bloggers4UKIP calling the English Democrats racist in light of the influx of BNP members into the party. The case was thrown out as it made no reference to him, either express or implied. At the time he called it "a technicality". The judge called it the law. His number two, Steve Uncles, is currently awaiting trial for 10 counts of election fraud relating to last year's local elections where a number of fake candidates and false nominations were submitted, including one that supposedly lived at the house that was demolished to build the house he currently lives in.

Kevin Sills joins a long line of former English Democrats who have joined UKIP and will be seeking election under the UKIP banner this year.

Swale Conservative borough councillor defects to UKIP

A Conservative borough councillor in Sheppey has defected to UKIP.

Cllr June Garrad has become "disillusioned" with local politics under the Conservatives and had decided not to stand for re-election. She then spoke to her local UKIP branch and realised that "things didn't have to continue in the way they were".

Local councillors putting their residents before party, without a party line controlling the way we vote, and seeking to win discussions through good arguments rather than simply forcing votes through by use of a party whip.

It is an exciting and democratic approach to local politics that is totally missing at the moment, and has encouraged me to stand again under the Ukip banner.

Cllr Garrad is standing for re-election as a UKIP candidate next month.

Yorkshire Tory PPC defects to UKIP

A Conservative PPC and councillor in Yorkshire has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Mike Whitehead was the Conservative PPC for Hull West & Hessle until the weekend when he resigned his membership and joined the people's army. He is currently a councillor for Willerby & Kirkella ward on East Riding Council.

Cllr Whitehead describes a culture of bullying and intimidation in the local Conservative Party and a lack of interest by the national party in dealing with the problem.

Both Cllr Whitehead and his former Conservative colleague, Cllr Mick Burchill, who defected to UKIP last week will be standing for re-election as UKIP candidates in the local elections.

Conservative councillor in East Yorkshire defects to UKIP

A Conservative councillor from East Yorkshire has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Michael Burchill defected to UKIP yesterday saying that "The local Conservative Party have forgotten that councillors work for the Residents and Constituents not for the council".

Former Conservative councillor in Skegness joins UKIP

An former Conservative councillor on East Lindsey District Council has joined UKIP.

Cllr John Byford resigned from the Tories last year because they had failed to deliver on their promises and let down so many people locally and nationally.

Cllr Byford represents the Seacroft ward on East Lindsey District Council and also sits on Skegness Town Council.

Two Grantham councillors defect to UKIP

Two Conservative district councillors in Grantham have defected to UKIP.

Husband and wife team Cllrs Mike and Jean Taylor have been members of the Conservative Party for 48 and 36 years respectively. Mike has been a district councillor for 16 years and was a cabinet member until his defection. Jean has been a councillor for almost 4 years.

The pair have been at loggerheads with the Grantham & Stamford Conservative Association recently over the candidate selection process and behaviour of some of the Conservative councillors and their PPC. Last March, Grantham & Stamford Conservatives selected a former BNP activist for a by-election for Kesteven District Council.

Jean Taylor said:

I'm quite relieved to be out of it. I'm disappointed because I've been a member for a long time, but this is a new beginning. UKIP is not a new party but it’s building up and getting lots of new members. It’s exciting.

East Hants Conservative councillor defects to UKIP

A Conservative councillor in Hampshire has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Guy Stacpoole, East Hants district councillor for Petersfield St Mary's, has been a member of the Conservatives for all of his adult life and a district councillor for 12 years. Prior to that he was a borough councillor in Waverley, Surrey.

Like so many other former Conservatives I simply cannot accept the national party’s policies regarding Britain’s armed forces, immigration and the European Union. The Conservative policy approach in all of these key areas runs counter to the best interests of this country.

No one in their right minds should vote Labour and the Liberal Democrats continue to be a waste of time. Only UKIP offers the suitable alternative sought by those very many of us who are frustrated by a leadership we can no longer trust.

I shall stand again in May’s elections for St. Mary’s ward where I am the incumbent District Councillor and where I played a major part in guiding the new Sheet Parish Council to fruition.

I know many people who hold similar views and I would encourage them to join the new, dynamic UKIP team in East Hampshire and help regain Britain’s sovereignty and independence.

Leader of Slough Conservatives defects to UKIP

The Leader of Slough Conservatives has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Diana Coad has been the Conservative councillor for Langley St Mary's since 2006 but says that under David Cameron the Conservative Party has lost its traditional beliefs.

Bradford Conservative councillor defects to UKIP

A Conservative councillor in Bradford has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Michael McCabe has been a Conservative councillor for Thornton & Allerton ward for 10 years. His defection means there are now two UKIP councillors in Bradford.

Conservative councillor in Bracknell defects to UKIP

A Conservative councillor in Bracknell has defected to UKIP.

Cllr Will Davison, who represents Hanworth ward on Bracknell Forest Council, had become "increasingly disenchanted" with the Tories and announced his defection at a public meeting last night.

Cllr Davison's defection will make the UKIP group the second largest on the council, making UKIP the official opposition.

Amjad Bashir MEP defects back to the Tories

Yorkshire & Humber MEP, Amjad Bashir, has resigned from UKIP and gone back to the Conservatives after being suspended over serious concerns about alleged financial and employment law offences.

David Cameron has said that he is "delighted" to welcome Bashir to the party but he might not be delighted for much longer if the allegations against him are true. The party have forwarded evidence from its investigation into Bashir to the police, It is unknown whether the alleged employment law offences relate to the immigration raid on one of his restaurants in 2013 which resulted in the arrest of 7 people.

Bashir isn't expected to honour the pledge he signed before the election to resign as an MEP if he resigned from the party.

Here are some of Bashir's recent comments about his new boss:

The public is angry with his party’s commitment to give 0.7% of our gross national income in foreign aid but Cameron stubbornly won’t back down on it, unusually for a man who has happily reneged on pledges on other issues.

David Cameron set the target to show the Conservatives are not the ‘nasty party’ but instead it shows they are the short sighted party.

David Cameron’s plans for countering British jihadis are like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

David Cameron has thrown a number of options into the air in a desperate bid to save his own skin but like so many spinning plates they will all come crashing to the ground in pieces.

Lib Dem councillor defects to UKIP

Earlier this week we reported that Shepshed Lib Dem town councillor, Diane Horn, had defected to UKIP. She has now spoken to the press to explain her reasons.

Cllr Horn said she was "no longer sure what the Lib Dems represent" and said had become so disillusioned with the party she had lost all her energy. Her disappointment with the party she had represented for the last 8 and a half years is obvious in her comments to the Loughborough Echo.

Many moons ago Britain managed on its own without the EU and they want to make sure the people of England are put first. I did think about standing down altogether but when I got speaking to UKIP, I thought "why waste the nine and a half years you have put into this."

I was tired and had lost all my energy and was frustrated by what was going on and it has given me a new lease of life.

Cllr Horn will be standing for UKIP in the upcoming elections in May.