Shettleston councillor Thomas Kerr, who has been Tory leader at the council for several years, made the surprise move to Nigel Farage’s party today (Thursday).
Now, the Scottish Greens have attacked the councillor – calling the defection a “slap in the face” to voters in Shettleston – and challenged him to resign his seat and win it under his new party’s banner.
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A Glasgow Green Group spokesperson said: “All Reform UK are offering is snake oil, not solutions for the people of Glasgow.
“Cllr Kerr was elected to serve the people of Shettleston as a Conservative, not to serve himself in finding the best foothold to Holyrood in whatever populist bandwagon can get him there.
They added: “If he really wants to represent the extremist fringe of the right wing, then he should step down, and give voters in Shettleston the opportunity to decide the councillor they want in a by-election, as it is otherwise a slap in the face to those voters who elected him as a Conservative.”
Kerr’s defection came as a Holyrood poll from Survation put the Tories and Reform UK neck and neck, on 15 seats each.
Questioned on the defection by journalists at Holyrood, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay failed to stop speculation that there could be further Tory defections to Nigel Farage’s party.