Tsk tsk, someone really did get their facts wrong because the FT’s Jim Pickard reports:

A senior Tory tells me, over a cup of Earl Grey, that 30 Labour/Lib Dem councillors have defected to the Conservatives in the last 12 months. Only one Tory councillor has quit the party during the same period.

One problem with that. It ain’t true. Indeed, the Murray family alone demonstrate that - as Gordon and Lynn were both Conservative councillors on Barrow Borough Council and switched to the Liberal Democrats within the last year.

And they’re not the only ones by any means. A sample of the others includes:

1. Sarah Turley: quit the Conservatives for the Liberal Democrats in South Gloucestershire
2. Michael Walton: quit the Conservatives to stand as an independent for Tynedale Council
3. Marion Mason: quit the Conservatives for UKIP in Stevenage

and at this point I’ve got bored, but it’s by no means a full list - I’ve only just skimmed through a view previous posts of mine on this blog, let alone looked through the whole year or elsewhere. But you get the idea from those five councillors alone. What the “senior Tory” told the FT ain’t true.