Overview
- Robbie Lammas, who left the Conservatives for Reform UK in October, has resigned from Reform after eight months and will sit as an independent on Medway Council.
- Lammas told the BBC he felt 'misled' by Reform, said his move had been 'the biggest mistake of my life' and described the party as 'unserious, unprepared and unfit to govern.'
- He has written to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to apologise and said he hopes to return to the Conservative benches in future.
- A Reform UK spokesman said Lammas had been suspended during an investigation, received a formal warning, had a job application rejected and defended the party's recent local election gains.
- The episode highlights how individual defections can be used for publicity, could affect local council dynamics, and is likely to feed debate about Reform's readiness to translate local gains into disciplined local leadership.