Nigel Farage writes to every Tory councillor inviting defections ahead of local elections

Nigel Farage has written to over 1,350 Conservative councillors encouraging them to defect from the Tories to Reform UK ahead of the local elections in May.

Blasting the Conservative Party as a "busted flush", Mr Farage encourages Conservative county councillors to jump sides or face losing their seat to his rapidly growing party juggernaut.

In his letter, he calls on the 1,352 Conservative councillors to join others who have already made the leap.

He outlined the risk they face if they remain with the Tories, who once again face being overtaken by Reform UK in a number of polls.

Mr Farage warned that by remaining Conservative, "they are all working within a party whose brand has been trashed by scandal and broken promises".

Mr Farage said: "The Conservative Party is a busted flush - these 1352 councillors are watching their time in office tick away, whilst they argue between themselves on whether to choose a Leader that's undergone a damascene political conversion and a someone who won't leave the ECHR.

"I urge any Conservative Party Councillors who believe in their country and share our values to join Reform UK as we build on the extraordinary inroads we made at the General Election."

A Reform source said the party plans on standing candidates in every single seat, with their election efforts boosted by a membership now well over 90,000.

Brits will go to the polls on May 1 next year to have their first say at the ballot box since Keir Starmer swept to power in July.

All seats on all 21 county councils in England, and 10 unitary authorities, will be up for elections, along with a number of mayoralties and the council of the Isles of Scilly.

While Sir Keir may get a frosty reception from voters, if current poll trends continue, it could be disastrous for the Tories.

The last time most of the council seats were fought was in 2021, when Boris Johnson was riding high on a Covid vaccine bounce, and saw the Tories win the Hartlepool by-election.

This means that the Tories have the potential to lose far more seats than Labour.

The Tories have 1,448 seats, versus Labour's 395 and the Liberal Democrats' 293.

It will be the first big election test of the next Conservative leader, either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick, but it will prove difficult to avert disaster in such a short amount of time.

Labour has already fired the starting gun on their local election campaign, with a major fundraising drive to boost their "seriously depleted" financial reserves following the general election.

In a rallying cry to donors and activists, Labour warned that the Tories "have a right grip on these countries. None of them have Labour administrations.

"This is important...County councils are responsible for education, transport, planning, social care and many more services across the entire county.

"We need to put as much red on this map as possible - we need Labour councils working with this Labour Government to deliver."