Tory Greater Manchester mayoral candidate Dan Barker defects to Reform UK

The Conservative candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester has defected to Reform UK, accusing his former party of "giving up" on the north of England.

Dan Barker had been selected by the Conservatives in December to challenge current mayor, Labour's Andy Burnham.

He follows Lee Anderson, the former Conservative party deputy chair, who defected to Reform UK on 11 March.

Mr Barker said the Tories had abandoned northern areas to focus on other seats under threat from the Lib Dems.

The Conservatives have 15 days to select a new candidate for mayor. A party spokesman said a selection process for a new candidate will begin shortly.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Barker said the national Conservative party had failed to provide any support and accused the Tory headquarters of taking candidates "for granted".

He said: "I think, in truth, they've given up on Greater Manchester and the north of England.

"You can see that from inside the party, what they are really doing is trying to protect the blue wall in the South East and the South West because they fear that the Liberal Democrats are going to annihilate them."

Reform UK Leader Richard Tice welcomed Mr Barker to the party in a social media post, claiming the scalp of "another senior Tory".

Mr Barker denied he made a "knee jerk decision" to leave the Conservatives. He told the BBC he had "lost sleep" and considered "stepping back from politics" over the way he was treated.

In a social media post, Mr Barker called Reform UK "the new home of conservatism," saying the party "represent the ordinary people of this country".

Reform UK, founded by Nigel Farage, has been regularly polling above 10% of national voting intention over the last month. Reform are at their highest level since the party changed its name from the Brexit Party after the last general election.

Until today, Mr Barker's social media account was filled with posts promoting the Conservatives and local Tory politicians.

Less than 24 hours before announcing his defection, Mr Barker spoke to the Manchester Evening News promising to "take personal control" of police if he became the Tory mayor of the city.

Mr Burnham said he didn't think the defection "reflects well on either the candidate or the party," adding "it's like the old sinking ship scenario".

Jake Austin, the Lib Dem candidate for the mayoral race, said it was "yet another example of the Conservatives in complete meltdown across Greater Manchester".

A Conservative Party source said: "The Conservatives received under 20% of the vote in Manchester in 2021. We have to be realistic about our prospects in this election."