Twenty Conservative councillors defected to Reform UK on Tuesday, prompting party leader Kemi Badenoch to criticise them for lacking the resilience to handle difficult periods. The mass departure occurred on the eve of the Conservative Party conference finale in Manchester.
Badenoch told ITV News that supporters who "jump around because they're jumping around polls are not people who can deal with tough times". She continued: "If they cannot deal with tough times in opposition, how are they going to deal with tough times in government?"
The Conservative leader described the defections as people wanting to "jump into whatever lifeboat they think is passing by" during what she called a "long, difficult journey" in Opposition. She said: "We need people who can see through difficult times."
Defector's rationale
Robbie Lammas, a councillor in Medway's Princes Park ward, said he took a "personal risk" by joining Reform UK in a traditionally Conservative area. He warned that the Conservative leadership had been "too tentative for too long", which he said "made them look like they didn't know what they wanted".
Lammas told PA Media he had been considering the move since the beginning of this year, citing the party's internal divisions. He argued: "I think the breadth of the church is too broad to function effectively to pass the legislation to meet the challenges of today."
The councillor explained that the "liberal part of the Conservative Party will never accept things like" Badenoch's pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. He noted potential personal costs in Kent, where Conservatives won more than half the vote share and local elections won't occur for two years.
Strategic timing
Badenoch dismissed the defections as "a stunt that Reform has pulled", telling the BBC: "It is not a coincidence that this has all been announced this morning." The timing coincided with her closing speech at the Conservative conference.
Reform UK has steadily expanded its local representation, securing 677 seats at May's local elections and taking control of several authorities in Derbyshire, Kent, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire. East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger also left the Conservatives for Reform last month.
Complete defector list
The defecting councillors included Mark Whittington from South Kesteven, Brett Rosehill and Caroline Clapper from Hertsmere, and Duane Farr and Cameron Adams from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Denise Howard from East Riding of Yorkshire, Debbie Soloman from Rushcliffe, and five Gravesham councillors also defected.
Other defectors included Barry Dunning from Hampshire, Paul Miller from Basingstoke and Deane, Jack Rydeheard from Bury, Mathew Forshaw from South Ribble, Karl Arthur from North Yorkshire, Richard Craddock from Cannock Chase, Heike Sowa from Suffolk and Christopher Marlow from Bromley.
Party direction debate
Badenoch told LBC Radio the Manchester conference demonstrated "the direction of travel: a stronger economy, stronger borders". She maintained that losing supporters was part of "shedding a lot of the baggage of the last 14 years".
Brett Rosehill, representing Aldenham East ward in Hertsmere, rejected Badenoch's characterisation. He told PA Media: "I don't think it's 'shedding baggage'. I think there's a strong, growing movement of people who care about British values and safety."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
