Yet Another London Labour Councillor Crosses to the Tories

Regular readers will know that I have been reporting on the steady stream of London Labour Councillors who have crossed the floor to join the Conservatives. The latest defection is a Croydon Councillor who has represented the party since 2002. Councillor Greta Sohoye made the dramatic announcement at a Council meeting last night. Her decision will be a boost for the controlling Conservative group and for Gavin Barwell who is hoping to retain the highly marginal Croydon Central seat for the Conservatives at the General Election.

Interestingly, as with so many other recent defections, Cllr Sohoye is a from a minority ethnic community. This is very much a pattern recently and the boost to Conservatve credentials with Black and Minority Ethnic communities should not be under estimated. In Reading the Conservatives already have more minority ethnic Councillors than any other local party but it will be interesting to see if any sitting Labour Councillors decide to cross the floor in the run up to the next local elections.