Councillor joins Reform UK due to ‘centrist’ Tory drift

THE first Reform UK representative on Reading Borough Council, who defected from the Conservatives last week, said he wants to bring his “experience” to the party.

Councillor Clarence Mitchell, who has represented the Emmer Green ward since 2021, was one of 20 councillors to join the party, which is led by Nigel Farage, last week.

It leaves three Conservative representatives on the council, along with 32 from Labour, eight from the Green Party, three Liberal Democrats and one Independent.

Cllr Mitchell, who until last week was the Tory leader on the council, said his former party had moved away from its core principles.

He said: “I’ve been a member of the Conservative Party for more than 16 years, so it wasn’t an easy decision to make — you don’t take these things lightly.

“I’m still conservative with a small c and the original ethos of it being a party that stands for low taxation, small state and allowing working people to be able to keep as much money of their own as possible.

“I felt that, while the party still champions some of those, that they were losing their focus and there was a drift towards a slightly more centrist attitude.”

Cllr Mitchell was elected to the former Peppard Ward in 2021 and was re-elected as the councillor for Emmer Green in 2022 following a boundary change.

He said while he acknowledges his limited influence as the sole Reform representative on the council, he hoped he would offer “experience” to the party.

Cllr Mitchell said: “Reform has won a number of county councils in other areas and a lot of those councillors are absolutely new to politics, so I feel that they need some experience locally if they are going to be effective councillors.

“Can I effect change in policy locally? No. But I have been a political agent running a campaign for the local Conservatives here for the last three elections so I can offer that experience to the party.

“In Reading, it’s almost been a Labour stronghold since the Eighties and that’s very difficult to overcome overnight.”

He dismissed the need for a by-election and said that making the announcement of his new affiliation ahead of the local elections on May 7 was the morally responsible thing to do.

“I’ve got three or four months to prove myself to the electorate again,” Cllr Mitchell said.

“I felt it was the honest thing to do to make the change now and declare my change of party affiliation rather than do it after May, which would have been dishonest.

“I want to reassure my residents in my ward at a very local level that I am still going to be as effective and committed a councillor as I have always been, the colour of my rosette in that sense doesn’t matter.”

Councillor Raj Singh, who now leads the Conservatives on the council, said residents were interested in who will serve them best on local issues.

He said: “If Cllr Mitchell believes he can better serve the residents of Reading as a Reform councillor, I wish him well and time will tell.

“As local Conservatives, we remain focused on holding Labour’s leadership to account at the council while delivering for our communities.”

Council leader and Labour councillor Liz Terry said that Reform UK was becoming a “retirement home for failed Tory politicians”.
She said: “I’m disappointed — he’s jumping from one sinking ship to another, joining a group shouting from the sidelines about division and decline.

“This defection is not about focusing on Reading and delivering for people — just another failed Tory jumping ship. It [Reform] does seem like a retirement home for failed Tory politicians.”

The announcement came as former Conservative shadow minister Robert Jenrick joined the party after being sacked by the Tories when evidence of his intention to leave came to light.

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, along with 20 former Tory MPs, have also joined. the party, which currently has six sitting MPs in the House of Commons.