Independent councillor joins Conservatives

AN INDEPENDENT councillor has joined the Conservatives on Northumberland County Council.

- JAMES ROBINSON Local democracy reporter

Cramlington East and Double Row councillor Scott Lee, who has been in post since 2021, joined the Tory-led administration during the party’s conference.

Coun Lee was elected with a majority of six in May’s local elections, narrowly fending off competition from Reform UK. The Conservatives polled last in the ward with 113 votes.

Coun Lee previously stood for the Conservatives in Blyth’s Croft ward at the 2017 elections, but lost out to Labour and stood as an independent in 2021 and 2025.

He also stood as an independent candidate for Cramlington and Killingworth against Tory MP Ian Levy in the last General Election, but lost out to Labour's Emma Foody.

Coun Lee said that he'd chosen to join the Tories after leader Kemi Badenoch’s speech at the conference on Wednesday.