FORMER TORY CHAIR BECOMES FIRST MEMBER OF NIGEL FARAGE'S PARTY ON RUSHCLIFFE COUNCIL

THE chair of the Conservative Party at Rushcliffe Borough council has defected to Reform UK just three months after she was reelected to the position.

- By JOSEPH CONNOLLY Local democracy reporter

Councillor Debbie Soloman announced the news in a letter to fellow councillors yesterday in which she praised Reform leader, Nigel Farage.

“I hold clear Conservative values,” it reads. “Unfortunately, over the last parliament and even before, the Party has failed to deliver these values. Rishi Sunak’s undemocratic coup and disastrous premiership were, for me, the final nail in the coffin that killed the party.

“It's about time that the people of our country were given a genuine choice of who to vote for, rather than being stuck with a decision based on the least worst option. Reform UK is putting our country first.”

Councillor Soloman’s defection means she becomes the first and only Reform councillor on Rushcliffe Borough Council. She was only reelected chair of the Tories in July this year.

She revealed that she had been thinking of defecting since before the 2024 general election.

“I think it was very clear when Nigel Farage came back six weeks before the election. That signalled a bit of hope - for a leader who has consistently spoken up about the real issues that people are bothered about.