BEVERLEY – The leader of the Labour group on East Riding of Yorkshire Council has defected to the Conservatives after learning he would not be selected to stand for Labour at next year’s local elections.
Councillor Steve Gallant, who represents South West Holderness, said he left Labour last Thursday and joined the Conservative Party on Monday following a meeting with regional Labour officials.
Councillor Gallant said he had been told he would not be standing as a Labour candidate when voters across the East Riding go to the polls next May.
“I thought it made sense for me to continue to represent the people in my area and I’ll do that in a party that welcomes me as opposed to one that wants to block me,” he said.
The Labour Party has declined to comment on the individual case, although the BBC reports that it understands Councillor Gallant will not be selected as a Labour candidate for the elections.
Councillor Gallant said his priority was continuing to represent residents in South West Holderness and revealed that East Riding Council leader Councillor Anne Handley had suggested he could instead stand for the Conservatives.
“As soon as I let the East Riding of Yorkshire Council leader, Anne Handley, know that I wasn’t going to be standing next year [for Labour], she said, well, you could stand for us,” he said.
Explaining his decision to cross the political divide, Councillor Gallant argued that much of the work undertaken by East Riding councillors was not party political and pointed to his existing working relationship with Councillor Handley.
He currently chairs the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and said that relationship had allowed them to work together despite previously representing opposing parties.
Councillor Gallant also said Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart had welcomed his decision to join the Conservatives.
The pair have previously worked together on local campaigns, including opposition to proposals for a Geological Disposal Facility in the Holderness area, concerns over telegraph poles and efforts to improve mobile phone coverage.
Councillor Gallant will now continue representing South West Holderness as a Conservative councillor ahead of the East Riding local elections next May.