A Stanford East Ukip councillor who resigned from the party this morning (Tuesday) should go to the people in a by-election.
UKIP Group Leader Graham Snell has demanded the election after Colin Churchman declared himself an independent councillor after a row over planning issues.
Cllr Snell said: "Councillor Churchman’s resignation, whilst regrettable, has not come as a shock. We had hoped that we would, as a group, benefit and learn from Colin’s great wealth of experience from his previous stints as both Councillor and Mayor. However, that was not to be.
"Cllr Churchman seemed to find it difficult coming into a strong UKIP group with strong leadership and, as time went on, isolated himself by not turning up to meetings when requested to do so.
"We would like to remind Cllr Churchman that he was elected by the people of Stanford East and Corringham Town as a UKIP Councillor after the hard work put in by Cllr Roy Jones and that UKIP has set a precedent nationally of elected members, when wanting to change allegiance, standing down and putting their decision to a public vote.
Therefore, we urge Cllr Churchman to follow the example of Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless by calling a local by-election."
