Ashfield District Council Labour councillors Lee Anderson and Chris Baron have today defected to the Conservative Party, saying Labour no longer represented the interest of hardworking men and women following the hard-left takeover of Labour.

Chris Baron has served as an Ashfield Labour Cllr for 16 years and is a former leader of Ashfield District Council. Lee Anderson is Chairman of Ashfield Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Commenting, Cllr Lee Anderson said: "The Labour party is no longer the party I joined. Both locally and nationally, it has been taken over by the hard-left who are more interested in fighting internal ideological battles than standing up for the priorities of working men and women.

"I have joined the Conservatives as they are now the only party of aspiration who listen and act on the everyday concerns of working people."

Cllr Chris Baron said: "Having served as a representative of the Labour party for three decades, this has been a heartwrenching decision, but the Labour party has changed, and it has changed for the worse.

"Elected members should try to leave their posts having improved things for people, but in Ashfield, the Labour council are making things worse.

"The people of Ashfield want their elected representative to pursue sensible policies driven by mainstream politics, which is why I have taken the decision to leave Labour and join the Conservatives."

Ben Bradley, Conservative MP for Mansfield,  said:

"I've worked with Lee and Chris for a long time and I'm delighted to welcome them to the Party.

"They are an asset to the local community and both have a record of prioritising the needs of the people they represent above all else. They've always been open and wanted to work together at the Council, regardless of party politics and the pressure they were put under by Labour's leaders.

"I'm so glad they've chosen to carry on and to join us in the Conservative Party, because they could so easily have let the hard-left in the Labour Party force them out altogether. I think it's clear who really represents the priorities of working people in North Notts, and it's pretty sad that Labour are trying so hard to drown out the voices of their most sensible and capable Councillors."

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