A LABOUR councillor in North East Lincolnshire has defected to UKIP, saying she wants to be free to represent the people.
Councillor Jane Bramley, who represents the South ward, handed in her resignation letter to Labour group leader Chris Shaw yesterday.
The shock move gives the Eurosceptic party its third councillor in the borough, just over a year after its first councillor was elected and barely two months after it defeated the Conservatives in the Humberston & New Waltham by-election.
Local party members say the defection shows that UKIP is a viable alternative for all voters, and not just a protest vote for disaffected Tories.
In an exclusive interview with the Grimsby Telegraph, Councillor Bramley said she had become disillusioned at being ordered to obey the Labour party whip and vote for things she disagreed with – such as the decision to close Scartho Baths.
The life-long Labour voter stressed she had not taken the decision lightly, but said that UKIP was a "fairer party" that would give her a better chance of representing the views of residents in her ward. She revealed that Labour had informed her they would not be putting her up for re-election in 2014, but insisted this was not the reason she had chosen to leave the party.
She said: "The main reason for joining UKIP is freedom of choice. I became a councillor to support the people to the best of my ability.
"I didn't agree with the decision to close the swimming baths but I was told I had to vote this way.
"I have really thought about this carefully. I couldn't stay with Labour any longer to be treated like a small child. I agree with most of the policies that UKIP have and I think it is a fairer party. UKIP listen to the people and try to give them what they want. I am very grateful to them for taking me on and I hope we can all work well together."
She said Councillor Shaw was "very nice and polite" when she informed him of her resignation, and didn't attempt to change her mind.
However, he told her she would be removed from the committees she was due to sit on this municipal year, including the standards and adjudication committee of which she was to be deputy chairman – a move which she described as "unfair".
Councillor Bramley said she believes most of her constituents will support her decision, even though many of them are, like her, traditional Labour voters.
"A lot of people had asked me why I was still with Labour and said they would be voting for UKIP. This is what the residents in my ward would want. They don't want to vote me in only for me to turn round and say I can't support them because my hands are tied."
