Paul

I have today written to the Chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee seeking permission to enter the selection process for a candidate for the forthcoming Gorton and Denton by-election. Read my letter here.👇🏻

This evening, with sorrow, I have decided to resign from my position as an Opposition Shadow Minister and as a member of the Conservative & Unionist Party. Since joining the Conservative Party at the age of 14, I have been a loyal and committed supporter of the principles advocated by Margaret Thatcher that have always underpinned my own political beliefs. However, the time has come to put country before party. The failure of the Conservative Party both when in government and more recently in opposition to actively hold the government to account on the issue of Chagossian self-determination and the defence of British sovereignty, represents a clear red line for me. Since entering Parliament in 2001, I have consistently argued, both from the backbenches and the frontbench, that the right of self-determination of the Chagossian people is sacrosanct, and that they alone should decide the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. Regrettably, these concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Both the government and the opposition have been complicit in the surrender of this sovereign British territory to a foreign power. This was made abundantly clear by the failure of Conservative peers to vote down the British Indian Ocean Territory Bill at third reading earlier this month, following direction from the top of the party. Sadly, I now believe that the Conservative Party is irreparably bound to the mistakes of previous governments and unwilling to take meaningful accountability for the poor decisions made over so many issues. Moreover, the views and concerns of constituents such as mine in Romford have been consistently ignored for far too long. Following a conversation earlier this evening with Nigel Farage M.P., I have therefore agreed to join Reform U.K. as its seventh Member of Parliament. It is clear to me that Reform U.K. is now the only political movement that is genuinely willing to fight for the best interests of the United Kingdom. The views and concerns of the majority of the British people must no longer be sidelined. Our country has endured a generation of managed decline. Radical action is now required to reverse the damaging decisions of the past and to forge a new course for Britain - one that firmly places the interests of the British people first.