Council leader quits Tories to join Reform UK

The leader of Ribble Valley Council has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK.

Stephen Atkinson has been in charge for the last six years and recently announced his decision to end his role as leader and talked about hopes of becoming the borough's deputy mayor.

He announced the decision at a Reform UK press conference in London, ahead of the forthcoming county council elections in May, in which he intends to be a candidate.

"Reform is the only party that can save the country," he said.

He is among 29 councillors from across the country who have defected to the party.

Other Lancashire councillors who have joined Reform recently include Lancashire county councillors Ged Mirfin and Matthew Salter, and Wyre councillor Paul Ellison.

They left the Conservative Party because they "felt abandoned and disillusioned by it after so many broken promises", Reform UK said.

Mr Atkinson said his council had delivered "great success" for residents, but he resigned on Sunday from the Conservative Party to join Reform and would be standing for the party in the county council elections.

He said: "The reason is that Reform - its vision for growth, prosperity and safety for all Britons - is what the country needs.

"And to paraphrase Edmund Burke, all it takes for bad things to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing.

"And that's the reason why I make this decision for the greater good.

"And like so many others, I feel betrayed by decades of broken promises. Tory MPs, ministers and prime ministers have failed over the last 14 years."

He claimed: "Labour and the Conservatives have morphed into one. They have become the same thing, high immigration, high taxes and high energy bills. They've let patriots like me and the rest of the country down. They are the globalist uni-party.

"The only way to ensure we beat Labour is uniting behind Reform, all with a shared vision, making sure the UK is sovereign, prosperous and independent nation that we all know it can be."

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