Breaking: Mark Reckless MP defects to Ukip

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29394697

Conservative MP Mark Reckless has announced that he is joining UKIP.

"A decision I make from optimism, born of belief Britain can be better," says MP Mark Reckless as he defects to UKIP

The Rochester and Strood MP told the UKIP conference, in Doncaster, that he has resigned as an MP, triggering a by-election in the constituency.

Delegates started to spontaneously chant "UKIP, UKIP" when Mr Reckless announced his decision to defect, which he said was not easy.

The move comes just weeks after Clacton MP Douglas Carswell defected from the Conservatives to join UKIP.

Mr Carswell announced that he would stand down as an MP in his constituency to seek re-election in a by-election.

Appearing on stage to a rapturous reception at the conference, he said: "Today I am leaving the Conservative party and joining UKIP."

Commenting on his decision, Mr Reckless said he had not taken it lightly.

He claimed the Conservative leadership was "part of the problem that is holding our country back".

Mr Reckless said voters felt "ripped off and lied to".

He won his seat in 2010 with 23,604 votes - 49% of the vote. Labour's Teresa Murray came second, with 13,651 votes.

[scottish]

Hardly worth the title of breaking.

Keep breaking for important updates

[Michael]

[Inseriousity.]

Not a certain victory compared to Carswell so perhaps even braver.

[-:Undertaker:-]

DM now has full article up.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ects-UKIP.html

New blow for David Cameron as second Tory MP defects to UKIP ahead of Conservative Party conference

- Mark Reckless announced his move at UKIP party conference in Doncaster
- Former Tory MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP last month
- Mr Reckless said Tory leadership was 'holding the country back'
- Added he felt voters had been 'ripped off and lied to' by Tory leaders
- He will resign his seat and stand as a UKIP candidate to fight by-election

A second Conservative MP has defected to UKIP in a shock announcement today.

Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless announced his decision at the UKIP conference in Doncaster today.

Mr Reckless said he would stand down as a Conservative MP to fight a by-election because his constituents were ‘the boss’.

Mr Reckless spoke to rapturous applause after being introduced to the stage by party leader Nigel Farage


Mark Reckless announced his defection today at the UKIP conference in Doncaster (left) a month after Douglass Carswell (right) revealed he would be leaving the Tories

He said: 'I will resign my seat in Parliament, trigger a by-election and your national executive committee allowing, stand for UKIP.'

It comes just 24 hours before the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham tomorrow.

Mr Reckless’s defection is a damaging blow to David Cameron ahead of his set piece address on Tuesday.

The backbench MP’s decision follows fellow rebel Douglas Carswell who last month announced he was leaving, triggering a by-election on October 9.

Mr Reckless blamed the Tory leadership for his decision to leave the party.

Launching a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, he said Mr Cameron's government was 'part of the problem that is holding our country back’ .

Appearing on stage to a rapturous reception at the eurosceptic party's conference in Doncaster, he said voters felt ‘ripped off and lied to’.

On immigration, Mr Reckless said constituents needed to believe that Britain had control over who comes into the country and in what numbers, adding: ‘At the moment we do not have any sense of that.’

Mr Cameron pledged to cut net immigration to ‘tens of thousands’ a year – but has seen it rise to around 250,000 a year.

Mr Reckless was met with rapturous applause at the conference after being introduced to the stage by the party leader Nigel Farage

Mr Reckless said: ‘The insanity of our immigration rules means that a second generation Briton wanting to bring granny over for a wedding, still less if they want to get married to someone from abroad themselves, will face huge difficulties, yet they will see an open door to immigration to anyone from the European Union.’

He added: ‘Now does anyone left or right genuinely support an immigration system where we turn away the best and brightest from our Commonwealth, people with links and family here in order to make room for unskilled immigration from southern and eastern Europe.’

He went on: ‘I promise to cut immigration while treating people fairly and humanely, I cannot keep that promise as a Conservative, I can keep it as Ukip.’

Mr Reckless announced that he will quit as an MP so he can trigger a by-election and fight the Kent seat as a Ukip candidate.

He told activists he answered to his constituents and wanted to seek their permission to change allegiance.

‘They are the boss and if I am to seek to represent them under different colours, I hope in a party that is closer to their values, then I shall ask their permission.

‘So I will resign my seat in Parliament, trigger a by-election and, your national executive allowing, stand for UKIP.’

Mr Reckless, a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, was introduced at the UKIP party conference by Nigel Farage at Doncaster Racecourse this afternoon.

Mr Farage said he had been due to speak for half an hour but only gave a 10 minute address before introducing his new Tory catch.

Before the surprise announcement he claimed that UKIP were now ahead in six constituencies.

Mr Farage said the party was set to win in Boston and Skegness, Thanet South, Thanet North, Clacton, Eastleigh and Great Yarmouth. The party was a close second to Labour in Rotherham as well.

He said: ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s a Labour held seat, a Lib Dem seat of a Conservative held seat, it doesn’t matter, we cross every social boundary in this country.’

His announcement comes after Douglas Carswell, the former Tory MP for Clacton, revealed he was defecting last month.

Michael Dugher, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, said the defection was a ‘hammer blow to David Cameron's already weakened authority’.

He added: ‘On the eve of his conference we again see that Conservatives' confidence in Cameron is plummeting.

'David Cameron has always pandered to his right, and even they are now deserting him.

‘This also underlines that UKIP are a party of Tory people, Tory policies and Tory money.

‘It is clearer than ever that only Labour has a plan to make everyday working people across the country better off.’

I want to see these Survation polls, very interesting.

Even more interesting is if they can win these by-elections, will the curse of FPTP 'wasted vote' be broken? And then what?

[The Don]

Hopefully with all these tory MP's joining the party the working class will wake up and realise that UKIP is anything but a party for the poor.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Hopefully with all these tory MP's joining the party the working class will wake up and realise that UKIP is anything but a party for the poor.

And Labour is? ...with a millionaire leader who lived his life on Camden Hill, and a party which supports mass immigration which affects the poorest in society the worst? A party that swept the abuse of young girls under the rug in Rotherham (working class area) to be politically correct? A party that brought in PFI schemes which privatised large parts of the NHS? A party soft on crime (which affects the poor the most) and a friend to the criminals?

The working classes are waking up. Good thing there's rumours of defections from the Labour backbenchers to Ukip too.

You support the EU. The very thing that smashed working class fishing towns into the ground.
You support the EU. The very organisation that is pushing ahead with a TTIP with the US which will privatise healthcare.
You support mass immigration. The very thing that results in overcrowding in schools, hospitals and housing.
You support soft justice for criminals, the very same scum that terrorise working class council estates.

You sound just like Labour in everything. You don't speak for the working class, it's just a mask for you.

[The Don]

And Labour is? ...with a millionaire leader who lived his life on Camden Hill, and a party which supports mass immigration which affects the poorest in society the worst? A party that swept the abuse of young girls under the rug in Rotherham (working class area) to be politically correct? A party that brought in PFI schemes which privatised large parts of the NHS? A party soft on crime (which affects the poor the most) and a friend to the criminals?

The working classes are waking up. Good thing there's rumours of defections from the Labour backbenchers to Ukip too.

Labour is more so than UKIP, yes.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Labour is more so than UKIP, yes.

The good thing is that the Labour frontbenches believe the same as you, which makes our job a lot easier.

We're blessed with incredibly out of touch opponents.

[The Don]

Majority of the population believes the same as me. Do you even read Ukips policies? A return to grammar schools (yes, let's write off the poorer students, talk about stalling social mobility), massive public spending cuts, lower tax rates for the rich, repeal the human rights act and introduce a flat rate tax (lol). But yes, they are a party for the poor.