Former Tory councillor quits Reform after 20 days
Mark Whittington says his reasons for leaving Reform UK are personal
- Published
A councillor who quit the Conservatives to join Reform UK earlier this month has stepped down from the party after 20 days.
Grantham councillor Mark Whittington will now sit on South Kesteven District Council as an unaligned independent member.
He left the Conservatives on 7 October, telling the media the party was "over" and had failed to deliver change.
Whittington said his reasons for leaving Reform UK were personal and "related to my Twitter and Facebook posts regarding my recent health issues".
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Whittington is recovering from a mini stroke and bleed on the brain he suffered earlier this month.
The Reform group now consists of three councillors on South Kesteven District Council.
Another former Conservative councillor defected to Reform UK earlier this year but left the party after 11 days.
Councillor Rosemary Trollope-Bellew switched her allegiance on 28 February, then became an independent on 11 March after the national party said she was not authorised to represent it.
Whittington was elected for Barrowby Gate ward in 2019 and served as a cabinet member while the authority was Conservative-controlled.
He lost his seat on Lincolnshire County Council in May's election.
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