Preston Tory group leader defects to Reform

The leader of the Conservative group on Preston City Council has defected to Reform UK, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

Stephen Thompson made the switch on Monday after becoming “frustrated” with his former party at national level, he said.

He will become the authority’s first Reform member – 18 years after he was elected to the town hall as a Tory.

The Preston Rural North representative had led what is currently the smaller of the two opposition parties on the Labour-run city council since May last year.

Deputy Conservative leader Harry Landless will take over as the group’s interim chief – and said he would be happy to continue in the role permanently if asked to do so by his four remaining Tory colleagues.

Cllr Thompson told the LDRS he had been “thinking about” making the move to Reform “for a while”.

“I just felt that the Conservative Party had 14 years [in government] to do a lot of things – and they didn’t do some of the things that they should have done.

“There was talk of the bonfire of the quangos – but that never came off – and immigration, both legal and illegal, got a lot worse under them.

“People I talk to are just more in tune with Reform than any of the other parties – and I can very well understand why. I’m no different to them – I’m just a man on the street.

“I think the political system needs a serious reset – and I just don’t think that the established parties have got any idea of how to do it or even the will to do it,” said Cllr Thompson, who had a hiatus in his tenure on the city council between 2019 and 2022.

He rejected any suggestion that he had joined Reform because of its current opinion poll lead and a desire to “preserve” his career in local politics.

“I’m retired now, so I could just walk away any time, but I’ve got to do what I think is the right thing and that’s my main driver – to make a statement and say this is the party that I want to be associated with going forward.”

Cllr Thompson said he has yet to decide whether to stand for re-election under the Reform banner next May.

Meanwhile, Cllr Landless said he was “disappointed” by his former leader’s decision to defect.

“It didn’t come as a great shock in terms of him going, but the timing was a surprise.

“But he’s made his choice – and he’s got to do what he feels best for him,” Cllr Landless added.

He said he remained “optimistic” about the Conservatives’ chances of regaining ground in the local elections in Preston next year.

“A lot can happen between now and then – we will see how Reform do [in] running Lancashire County Council for one thing.”

Cllr Thompson will become the second solo member of a political group at the town hall, after former Labour cabinet member Carol Henshaw signed up to join Jeremy Corbyn’s new ‘Your Party’ last month – although she remains an independent until that party is formally established.

The Conservative group on Preston City Council lost their status as the official opposition after the last poll in May 2024, in which they came in third behind the Liberal Democrats, who enjoyed a resurgence.

The current make-up the council is:

Labour – 27

Liberal Democrats – 13

Conservatives – 5

Reform UK – 1

Independent/Your party – 1

Vacant – 1