Hello and goodbye
On Friday two prominent individuals, lifelong Labour supporters in my constituency, joined the Conservative Party.
One is a Labour county councillor —Phillip French—who is chairman of the local Royal British Legion, and is very well known in the community. He cited the way the Government treats the armed forces, the terrible state of the NHS in Suffolk (almost continuously on black alert) and the refusal to offer a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty, amongst a series of broken electoral promises. I now have no Labour district or county councillors in my constituency, a dramatic change in the past few years.
Ann Sisson is the practice manager for a group of GPs in Haverhill, and has led the charge against budgetary cuts. She has seen the terrible bureaucratisation of the NHS at first hand. She is so fed up that she now wants to stand as a local Tory councillor.
Changing party is a serious step - it is well beyond simply changing one’s choice of supermarket. Both separately made this decision after much reflection and unhappiness. They believe Labour has failed in Government, and with David Cameron as leader, the Conservative Party has changed.
They will be a most welcome addition to the Conservative team in West Suffolk. Already my Liberal Democrat opponent twice over in the General Election campaign has joined us. I suspect that there will be many more to follow.