A Conservative county councillor has resigned from his party to stand as an independent parliamentary candidate.
Last week, Cllr Abul Azad, East Sussex county councillor for Bexhill North, announced his resignation from the Conservative Party. On Friday (June 7), he was confirmed to be standing as an independent parliamentary candidate for Bexhill and Battle.
In a statement published on his Facebook page, Cllr Azad wrote: “I always give 100% in everything I do, but for some time now I have become disappointed and disillusioned with the party I stood so very proudly for and whilst I have no regrets, in my honest opinion, the party is now just so far removed from what it was back in the days when I started out, and now the time has come for me to step away. It goes without saying that I have made many friends within the Conservative party over the years, and I hope they will understand my reasons for resigning from the party.
“I thought long and hard before finally making my decision to stand as an Independent candidate in the forthcoming parliamentary election. I made this choice because I want change and I believe the country needs change now.
“While there only ever seems to be a choice of the two main parties at elections, things are different these days, there is now a credible movement of Independents and other parties closing the gap.
“This will be the chance we get to make the changes we want.”
