Five Conservative councillors defect to Reform UK

Robbie Lammas (left) was special adviser to the Conservative Party

Five councillors in Kent have defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK.

The Nigel Farage-led party said it had welcomed former special adviser to the Conservative Party and Medway councillor Robbie Lammas, as well as Emma Elliott, Aaron Elliott, Gary Harding and David Beattie from Gravesham Borough Council (GBC)

Lammas, who also served as a parliamentary researcher to Tracey Crouch and as chief of staff to party chairman Richard Holden, said: "Only Reform can deliver the change Britain needs."

George Perfect, Conservative leader on Medway Council, said his group was holding Labour to account and that Lammas should consider his part in the failings of the previous government.

Lammas's defection follows criticism of Home Office plans to relocate asylum seekers from hotels into homes within Medway, Reform has said.

"Like many others who have supported the party for years, I feel that it's not so much a case of me leaving the party, but that the party has left me," Lammas added.

"Not only is Reform a party I feel strongly aligned to as a Conservative, but I believe that Nigel Farage can provide the leadership desperately needed to save Britain."

Lammas said his decision was "long overdue" and that he felt compelled to leave due to the "failure of local Conservatives to hold Medway Labour to account on flags and asylum seeker policy".

Perfect, who said he was disappointed in Lammas' decision, added that the group was an "effective opposition holding Labour to account", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Instead of focusing on ourselves, we are focused on holding Labour to account and providing a strong, credible and effective alternative to the Labour and co-operative council in Medway," he added.

'Eroded trust'

Reform UK said that 20 Conservative councillors across the country had joined the party during the Tory party's conference.

The defected GBC councillors said in a joint statement: "This country is in an unrecognisable state because politicians in Westminster have failed to understand and deliver on the needs of the public.

"Decades of broken promises have eroded trust in the established parties, and they can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt.

"A radical change in direction is urgently needed — and only Reform UK is in a position to deliver it."

Jordan Meade, Conservative leader at GBC, said: "Whilst I am disappointed that four councillors have opted to switch parties, the Conservative group remains entirely focused on getting on with our job of providing effective opposition on GBC, and working hard for residents within our respective wards."