Leading Conservative defects to the Liberal Democrats in Ealing Southall

6.03.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 3rd Jul 2007

Nigel Bakhai, Ealing Southall candidate

A senior Conservative in the by-election seat of Ealing Southall has defected to the Liberal Democrats, following the imposition of a candidate on the local party by Tory spin doctors.

Mr Brij Mohan Gupta, Deputy Chair (Political) of Ealing Southall Conservatives and Vice-Chair of Southall Green and Southall Broadway Conservative ward parties, has joined the Liberal Democrats and backed the Liberal Democrat candidate Nigel Bakhai.

Commenting, Mr Gupta said "Under David Cameron the Conservatives have become a party of style over substance. I agree with everything that Quentin Davies said about Mr Cameron. This by-election reflects Mr Cameron's contempt for local Conservative members. His spin doctors ignored our wishes and forced the branch to accept someone whose commitment to the party is less than a week old. Almost all local Conservative party members feel like I do. "When Mr Cameron came to Ealing Southall he did not have a single local official with him.

The Conservative candidate cannot win in Ealing Southall. As the last General Election showed it is the Liberal Democrats who are challenging Labour here. I am backing Nigel Bakhai, who will be Ealing Southall's next MP."

Chair of the Liberal Democrats Campaign Committee, Edward Davey MP, said "I am delighted to welcome Mr Gupta into the Liberal Democrats today. Senior Conservative Party members across Ealing Southall are extremely unhappy with the way David Cameron runs the Tory Party. People want their political leaders to have clear principles and policies, but under Mr Cameron even once loyal party members say the Conservatives seem prepared to say anything to win votes."