When two sitting councillors abandon the party under which they were elected, it sends shockwaves far beyond the council chamber.
The decision by Coventry’s Marcus Lapsa and Jackie Gardiner to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK is a moment of political theatre – but also a window into a deeper and more troubling undercurrent in British politics.
Nothing new
Let’s be clear: party-switching is not new. Westminster has seen its share of defections, and local government is no stranger either. But what makes this move particularly pointed is not just who the councillors are, but where they’ve landed. Reform UK, a party with a nationalist, populist message that often skirts the fringes of mainstream acceptability, is not a neutral parking space. It’s a clear ideological realignment.
Lapsa’s rationale – that both Labour and the Tories have “failed our country on a massive scale” – is a stinging rebuke to a party he represented for nearly two decades. Gardiner’s talk of defending “British culture, identity, and values” taps into the language of division, not bridge-building. This is less about local bin collections and potholes and more about culture wars, national narratives and, perhaps, electoral calculation.
A democratic dilemma
But beneath the headline lies a democratic dilemma. Voters in Westwood and Sherbourne did not elect Reform UK councillors. Conservative group leader Gary Ridley is right to call this a betrayal. Switching parties while in office without seeking a new mandate erodes public trust. It’s political opportunism dressed in populist robes.
What should worry us all, regardless of political allegiance, is how defections like this signal a drift away from accountability. If councillors can trade parties without consequence, it risks turning local democracy into a game of bait and switch.
The honourable course is clear: resign, call a by-election, and let the voters decide. Anything less diminishes the democratic contract and feeds the cynicism already plaguing our politics.
