The needle on the irony-meter is going haywire. A defection in Buckinghamshire has ended up handing overall control of the council to the Tories, after a Reform councillor decided to swap her light blue rosette for a dark blue one. Needless to say, it’s left some of her former colleagues fuming.
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Buckinghamshire defection leaves Reform feeling furious
Kathy Gibbon, who represents Bierton, Kingsbrook and Wing, confirmed that she was switching parties earlier this week. The move saw the Conservative Party regain a majority of seats in the region, prompting an angry response from Reform’s local leader.
Cameron Anderson has compared her cross-bench move to ‘buying a ticket to the Titanic’, knowing its fate. He has expressed his disappointment, suggesting that residents will now ‘feel a sense of injustice’ over the defection – somewhat ignoring what’s going on elsewhere
In recent weeks, Reform have grown their number of MPs in Westminster through the art of defection. Danny Kruger, Robert Jenrick, and Andrew Rosindell have all left the Conservatives for the fellow right-wing outfit, prompting some critics to demand a by-election in each constituency.
Calls for a by-election follow councillor’s switch of allegiance
Labour councillors in Buckinghamshire are also irate with this local defection, with senior members calling for a by-election to contest Gibbon’s seat. Although the regional branch of Reform are yet to echo these calls, these sense of frustration is palpable.
Speaking to The Bucks Herald, Councillor Anderson maintained a bullish tone, berating the Tories and the direction they’re heading in. He stated that handing power to the Conservatives will only serve to ‘increase the damage’ in local towns and villages.
“I’m sure the residents of Bierton, Kingsbrook and Wing ward now feel a great sense of dissatisfaction and injustice, especially considering Kathy is such a newly elected councillor. Why anyone would want to jump to the Tories. I am not sure…”
“It’s a bit like buying a golden ticket to the Titanic knowing it’s going to hit the iceberg. We are preparing ourselves for Government and this starts locally, handing power to the Conservatives at Bucks Council will further increase the damage to our towns and villages.” | Cameron Anderson