UKIP candidate defects to Conservatives
A former UKIP council candidate has announced that he is switching to the Conservatives.
David Mackintosh, who stood in this year's local elections for UKIP in Wolverhampton's Penn ward, has crossed over to the Tories.
The 20-year-old had previously served as lead member of the West Midlands youth group for UKIP.
"It wasn't an easy decision to switch parties, but it was the right one," Mr Mackintosh said.
"In UKIP, increasingly, there are extreme views becoming ever more common," he said. "I look forward to working with the excellent representatives of the Conservative Party, and I am delighted by the welcome they have given me."
He said he was concerned that UKIP was focussing 'too much' on immigration.
Conservative group leader on Wolverhampton City Council, Wendy Thompson, said: "David's rejection of UKIP's more extreme views is very telling.
"He is a welcome addition to our party locally and a signal that more and more people are realising how much the Conservative Party has to offer."
Mr Mackintosh's new allegiance follows the change made by a Labour councillor who crossed the floor earlier this year.
Zahid Shah represents the St Peter's ward.
Shortly before the May elections former mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett defected to UKIP from the Liberal Democrats.
He kept his seat in Spring Vale, having won it previously for the Lib Dems.
