Tory councillor defects to Reclaim amid North Shropshire by-election campaign

A North Shropshire Conservative councillor has defected to the Reclaim Party days before a by-election for a new MP.

He becomes the first elected official of the party which was set up by actor Laurence Fox in September 2020.

Anthony Allen said the Conservatives had "gone soft on immigration".

The Conservatives are hoping to hold on to the North Shropshire constituency on 16 December. The seat was made vacant when former MP Owen Paterson resigned.

Former Conservative MP Mr Paterson was found to have breached lobbying rules.

In a statement, Mr Allen said: "The Conservatives simply aren't conservative any more - they've gone soft on illegal immigration, they've lost control of taxation and are obsessed with crippling green taxes nobody wants.

"Like so many others, I'm getting more and more frustrated day by day with the continual cuts to public services."

The Market Drayton councillor said he would now be supporting Reclaim's candidate in the by-election.

Mr Fox welcomed Mr Allen's decision to join his party saying: "It's imperative that politicians like Anthony are free to speak their minds, rather than being constrained by a party that cares more for fashionable, metropolitan opinions rather than the sincerely held views of their membership.

"Anthony is our first councillor, but - watch this space - he won't be our last," adding that his party was launching a "'Town Hall Takeover' of Britain ahead of the next general election".