28/08/2014

Tory Clacton MP Defects To UKIP

Douglas Carswell has quit his seat as MP for Clacton and defected from the Conservative Party for UKIP.

It is understood that Mr Douglas will now contest the Clacton seat for UKIP, which if he won would see him become the first UKIP MP in the Commons.

According to reports Mr Douglas, described as a "maverick Eurosceptic", wants to "shake up cosy Westminster clique".

Mr Douglas made his announcement at a special press conference in London.

(MH/CD)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 September 2013
UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom Quits Party EU Group
Godfrey Bloom has announced that he is quitting the UKIP European group to see out the remainder of his term as an independent. Bloom lost the party whip last week following controversy over a joke that referred to female UKIP activists as "sluts".
10 October 2014
UKIP Win Clacton By-Election
Douglas Carswell has won the Clacton by-election, becoming the first elected MP for the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Carswell was contesting the seat he had previously held for the Conservative Party, before he defected to UKIP last month.
23 March 2015
Farage And Family 'Chased' From Pub
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been "chased" from a pub in south London as he had lunch with his family. According to reports a group of protesters "invaded" the Queen's Head pub in Downe, Kent, as Mr Farage was having lunch with his wife and two young children.
20 March 2015
UKIP MEP Fraud Allegation 'Couldn't Look Worse' - Farage
Nigel Farage has said that fraud allegations made against UKIP MEP Janice Atkinson, "couldn't look worse". The South East MEP and local election candidate has been suspended from the party following the publication of an investigation by The Sun newspaper into an alleged expenses claim.
05 December 2014
Ukip Leader Says Breastfeeding Women Should 'Sit In The Corner'
Ukip leader Nigel Farage claims some people feel "very uncomfortable" and "embarrassed" seeing women breastfeeding. Speaking on LBC Radio, he said mothers should breastfeed "in a way that's not openly ostentatious".