More than 60 of Reform UK's council candidates standing in this year's local elections are defectors from the Conservative Party, according to a Labour Party study. The research, which examined candidate nominations for the May elections, found that these individuals had previously served as councillors, candidates or activists for the Tories.
Reform has also selected an ex-Conservative for its candidate in the upcoming Runcorn and Helsby by-election, triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Mike Amesbury after a criminal conviction. The candidate, Sarah Pochin, is a former Tory councillor for Cheshire East. Deleted social media posts showed her posing with Michael Gove in 2019 and describing Jacob Rees-Mogg as 'inspiring'.
The party's mayoral candidate for Greater Lincolnshire is Andrea Jenkyns, a former Conservative MP who lost her seat in West Yorkshire last July. All but one of Reform's current MPs, including leader Nigel Farage, were previously Conservative members.
Labour accused Reform of a 'mass rebrand', with a spokesperson saying: 'A snake might shed its skin but at the end of the day it's still a snake. Farage claims to be a breath of political fresh air, but he just hoovered up 60 candidates who failed our country as card-carrying Conservatives.'
Reform UK responded, stating that the defectors represent less than 4% of their 1,630 candidates, and questioned Labour's acceptance of Tory defectors Christian Wakeford and Natalie Elphicke. Nineteen of the 23 councils up for election in May are currently run by the Conservatives.
