Councillor receives 'abuse' for defecting to Reform

Mason Humberstone first became a councillor in Stevenage in 2018

A councillor said he has received "vitriol and abuse" since deciding to defect from Labour to Reform UK.

Mason Humberstone, 26, represents Old Town ward on Stevenage Borough Council.

Senior Labour figures have called for him to resign and fight a by-election as a Reform UK candidate.

Humberstone said a mid-term poll would be a waste of money, and he was up for re-election soon anyway.

Humberstone said Labour's attitude to "proud" residents flying English flags was the last straw

Mason Humberstone described himself as a "working class lad" who was "born and bred in Stevenage".

He told BBC Three Counties Radio that values of "hard graft, aspiration, family, community and country" ran "deep in who I am".

He joined the Labour Party, believing it to be a kindred spirit, but said he gradually realised that the "reality" of Labour in Stevenage was "starkly different".

The final straw was the party's "disdain" for residents with "pride in their country wanting to put their flags up".

Straight from the horse's mouth: the council leader, Richard Henry, said Humberstone's conduct as a councillor created "many challenges"

The Labour leader of the borough council, Richard Henry, said he had "made every attempt, above and beyond what would be considered reasonable, to accommodate and mentor councillor Humberstone as he brought many challenges to the table in terms of his attendance, punctuality, adherence to commitments, dedication to the role and much more".

Humberstone said: "Some of the things they [the council's Labour group] said about me, the bitterness, the vitriol and, quite frankly, some of the abuse which they've landed towards me, shows the environment and culture which they permeate".

He added that there were "genuine reasons why I had to have a dip in attendance this past year".

"I was in my final year of Uni and had to work shifts in the evening," he said.

The Stevenage MP, Kevin Bonavia, said Humberstone should resign and contest the by-election as a Reform UK candidate

Humberstone has a Nigerian father and describes himself as being of "mixed heritage".

He said people who might have been surprised to see a man in his twenties with his background representing Reform UK had a "misunderstanding of what's going on out there."

He added that both sides of his family were "immensely supportive" of his decision to defect.

"It isn't about race and creed," he said, "it's about making sure our country's great again."

Both Henry and the local Labour MP, Kevin Bonavia, have called for Humberstone's resignation.

Bonavia added: "If he wants to continue to represent residents here with a different political party he should do the right thing by resigning as a councillor and seeking a new mandate in another election."

Humberstone has dismissed that suggestion and said: "It is a shame, though not surprising, that they want to waste tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on a by-election, when I am already up for re-election soon.

"Our community will have its chance to decide whether they want me as their representative, and I look forward to that battle."