UKIP leader on Dudley Council quits party

The leader of the UKIP group on Dudley Council has quit the party in a row over campaign funding.

Councillor Ken Turner and his wife Hazel, who both represent Hayley Green and Cradley South, will now serve as independents.

It also leaves UKIP in Walsall South looking for a new candidate as Mr Turner was chosen to try to take on Labour MP Valerie Vaz at the General Election.

They had previously been Conservatives until the end of last year when they left the Tory group and sat as independents before joining UKIP.

The Eurosceptics had nine seats on Dudley Council but are now reduced to seven.

It comes amid a series of coups for UKIP as two MPs, a former London deputy mayor and the son of Eurosceptic Tory MP Sir Bill Cash have all joined.

But Mr Turner, aged 71, hit out at the party claiming its unelected party members were trying to control the activities of councillors.

Mr Turner said he had proposed setting up a fund in May, shortly after the council elections, where councillors would donate seven per cent of their £9,393 basic allowance to a fund for campaigning.

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But the councillor said the party's Dudley branch had insisted the money go into its general fund instead - something UKIP say the majority agreed with.

"I've now told UKIP what to do," Mr Turner said.

"The behaviour of local branch members has been unacceptable.

"Because I said it should go into a group account they ended up holding a kangaroo court overseen by people who aren't elected by the public.

"The Dudley branch expects to be able to dictate what elected councillors say and do."

However, while the spat will be a welcome relief for the Conservatives after a week of defections, Mr Turner said he has 'no regrets' about leaving the Tories last year.

"I was disillusioned with them. They make promises but they won't be the major party in government."

Councillor Dean Perks, chairman of UKIP's Dudley branch, said: "We've always maintained there should be no disconnect between elected members and the branch. It is the branch members who are out knocking doors and delivering leaflets. We wouldn't be where we are without them.

"The process is democratic. I'm chairman and I'm an elected councillor. It was agreed the voluntary donation of allowances should go to the branch funds.

"It's not great when someone leaves but I don't think Ken ever took his Tory hat off."