Blackpool Tory group leader resigns after MP fallout

Councillor Tony Williams led the Tory group for the past eight years

The leader of Blackpool Council's Conservative group has resigned from the role after falling out with one of the town's Tory MPs.

Councillor Tony Williams has led the Tory group for the past eight years.

He said he signed a letter of no confidence in Blackpool South MP Scott Benton and was then suspended from the Conservative party, so he subsequently stood down.

Mr Benton said his focus was on serving the residents of Blackpool South.

The MP served as a councillor in Yorkshire and a primary school teacher before being elected in 2019 with a majority of 3,690 over Labour's Gordon Marsden.

Mr Marsden, who was elected in 1997, was the seat's first Labour MP, as all its previous incumbents had been Tories, but Mr Benton's victory saw a nine-point swing back to the Conservatives.

Mr Benton said his "focus will be on serving the residents of Blackpool South"

Mr Williams said he signed the letter of no confidence, along with a number of other local Conservative councillors on the Labour-controlled authority, which asked Mr Benton to stand down as an MP at the next election.

He said he was then suspended from the Conservative party and subsequently resigned, saying he could not continue due to having no "working relationship" with Mr Benton.

Mr Williams, who plans to remain on the council as an independent councillor, said local Tories have "never had any support" from Mr Benton and claimed some councillors have never even met the MP.

In response, Mr Benton said he was "unanimously readopted by the Blackpool South Conservative Association last year as the candidate for the next general election".

"Following the suspension of Councillor Williams from the party, I hope that the local association can move on and concentrate upon fighting May's local elections," he said.

"As ever, my focus will be on serving the residents of Blackpool South."

Analysis - Mike Stevens, BBC Radio Lancashire political reporter

The two people at the centre of the row are both big characters.

Scott Benton, whose political career was formed in Yorkshire, has been no stranger to controversy since he became the MP for Blackpool South in 2019.

Tony Williams, a former bass player in 70s folk rockers Stealers Wheel, has been a leading political voice in Blackpool for years.

Mr Benton won the so-called Red Wall seat from Labour and holds a majority of just over 3,500.

Both men will now be looking at the polls and worrying that the Conservatives are in danger of losing the seat at the next general election.

The problem, however, is that they both have very different ideas on how to boost votes.

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