He was \u201cexpelled\u201d from the Oldham and Saddleworth Conservative Federation<\/a> group on September 11 after deciding to not renew his membership to the Conservative party.\n<\/p>\n\n He is joined by councillors Sandra Ball and Mark Wilkinson, who are both independent representatives for Failsworth West.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite not being able to confirm the move when The Oldham Times initially contacted Reform UK earlier this month, the party has now welcomed the three councillors to the party.\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesperson for Reform UK said: \u201cWe are delighted to welcome Councillors Lewis, Mark, and Sandra to the party. Their combined experience and commitment to serving local residents perfectly embodies Reform UK\u2019s mission.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Cllr Quigg said in a statement issued via Reform UK that he is joining the party as \u201cOldham needs leadership that puts people first\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added: \u201cFor far too long, difficult truths have been ignored while ordinary families have been left behind. Instead of fighting for the people of Oldham, the opposition parties have colluded with Labour. We have all been betrayed.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe must restore power to the people who built this nation, confront challenges with courage, and speak honestly about what needs to change. Most of all, we must deliver tangible results for the hardworking people of Oldham and the country as a whole.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe choice ahead of us is simple. Either accept Arooj Shah’s Labour Party vision of Oldham or stand for Reform. I choose to stand with the people of Oldham and work tirelessly to build the future they deserve.”\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n Councillors Ball and Wilkinson also issued a joint statement via the party, saying: “We respect the people of this town, and we will continue to represent our residents with determination and vigour. It is clear that only Reform can make the impact needed. Reform UK will give us the platform and resources to serve our residents to the best of our abilities.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cOldham Council is failing the people of Failsworth. It is clear that several independents have been bought off to lend their votes to Labour. The party politics and infighting that dominate both Labour and independent councillors are preventing the council from meeting the needs of residents.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhilst some may be disappointed by our decision, there is no doubt that politics are changing rapidly in the UK. If we want to be part of the future, we have to change with it. We cannot stand alone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n In a more detailed statement posted on Facebook, the two councillors also commented on the rise and fall of the Failsworth Independent Party.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n The social media post said: \u201cA germ of an idea was mooted, a fleeting thought, that Failsworth could possibly form its own community party, gain council seats, and put our town on the Oldham map, and back into focus in the chamber.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhat a success! The Failsworth Independent Party was created. From 2019 – 2022, we achieved five sitting councillors. FIP was riding high, but furthermore, from our fine example, Independence grew within the borough.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI must say with sincerity, nobody was more disappointed than me when FIP imploded. Local politics became a sad reflection of what it was and could have been.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Councillor Lewis Quigg, representative for Royton North, is among the defecting politicians. He was \u201cexpelled\u201d from the Oldham…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-426214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115208238190823393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}