Tory councillor explains why he has defected to Reform

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A former Conservative councillor has explained his reasons for defecting to Reform UK.

Cllr Tim Grogan, who represents Monk Fryston and South Milford, became the latest Tory to defect to Nigel Farage’s party in a move which leaves political control of North Yorkshire Council hanging in the balance.

The departure of Cllr Grogan means the controlling Conservative and Independents group on the council now has 44 councillors — less than half the total number of 90.

Cllr Grogan, who it is understood was chief whip within the Tory group and had been tasked with finding councillors considering defection to Reform, becomes the fifth Reform councillor on the authority.

The councillor said he had made the switch after being approached by local residents in his division who asked if he would consider the move.

The former West Yorkshire police officer said:

Councillor Tom Seston, the Reform group leader on the authority, welcomed the councillor to the group.

He added: 

Councillor Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the council, said he was disappointed by Cllr Grogan’s departure.

He said:

The Conservative and Interdependents group lost its majority this year with the departure of Oatlands and Pannal Cllr John Mann, who initially became an unaligned independent and then joined Reform.

Councillor Karl Arthur previously defected from Conservative to Reform in October last year.

With 45 councillors, the group could still count on the casting vote of the chairman, Conservative member George Jabbour, should votes be tied when decisions were taken at full council meetings.

But Cllr Grogan’s departure means the group is now in the minority.

Leadership challenge

The defection follows a Conservative group meeting on Wednesday when Cllr Les faced a challenge to his leadership of the group from former executive committee colleague, Cllr Keane Duncan.

The meeting was deferred until July following a heated debate over whether independent members of the controlling group should have a vote on its leadership.

Cllr Les said he had been elected as leader for the term of the council and opposition councillors would need to call for a no-confidence vote if they wanted to make changes before the local election in May next year.

Councillor Peter Lacey, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition, said the latest defection was the “clearest sign yet of an administration that is divided, fragile and increasingly consumed by internal chaos”.

He added: