The Voice

Tory councillor defects to Lib Dems in Somerset

By | Sat 24th October 2009 - 5:48 pm

Just four months into Somerset being ruled by a Tory administration, and all is not well, as the local paper reports:

A BRIDGWATER county councillor has defected to the LibDems just four months after being elected as a Conservative – slamming the new Tory administration as ‘disastrous’.

Cllr Stephen Gill narrowly fought off Labour leader Pat Parker to gain the Bridgwater South seat in June, but has now crossed over party lines to join the side he helped to oust from County Hall. Explaining his decision to the Mercury, Cllr Gill said the amount of money spent to find a new county council chief executive, the pay freeze at County Hall and the closure of the Sedgemoor Splash had all contributed to his decision.

He said: “When I was elected, I went on a vote for change – but this has been change for the worst. Everything the Conservatives seem to touch is falling apart. Things have gone disastrously wrong very quickly.” …

Cllr Gill denied suggestions he had short-changed those who voted for him as a Conservative. He said: “I was elected to serve in this division and I will continue to help the whole community.”

Jill Shortland, LibDem leader on the county council, called Cllr Gill a ‘man of principle’. She said: “He is a strong voice who has always stood up for local people. This decision shows he feels he can better serve local residents by joining the LibDem group, and we are delighted to have him on board.”

Read more by or more about or .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

One Comment

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Jeff
    How relevant is this to Trump’s MAGA movement, to Farage and Reform? Of little to none I would have thought. The political ideologies that came to d...
  • Nonconformistradical
    I second Henry's comments about Barrow - this south-eastener has at least, albeit not recently, set foot in the Barrow constituency (visiting friends who lived ...
  • John Peters
    I would not have classed Barrow-in-Furness as post industrial. For decades it has had the same major employer - the dockyards. It manafactures the UK's nuclear ...
  • David Raw
    @ Daniel Walker, "we should have the cheapest possible democracy". I didn't say that, Daniel, though what I imply is that the party needs to prove to and mak...
  • Henry
    I do get very annoyed by the comments on these by-election posts. The over-exaggeration of our comeback because we won last week and then complain when we finis...