Cllr Amanda Hack, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for North West Leicestershire, has responded to news that Andrew Bridgen MP has quit the Reclaim Party after just seven months.

“Over the last twelve months I’ve spent a lot of time talking to people in North West Leicestershire. I listened carefully and in most of those conversations, people told me they wanted change – a change of government and a new MP.

What they don’t want is an MP who changes his political colours on a whim. At the beginning of the year people in North West Leicestershire had a Conservative MP who was banned from the House of Commons. He jumped ship and sat as an Independent, before announcing that he’d joined the Reclaim Party in May. Today’s resignation puts him back in the independent camp. Where he’ll end up next is anyone’s guess? Mr Bridgen simply cannot be trusted.

When I issued a public call for his resignation back in January, polling suggested that nine out of ten people agreed with me. He wasn’t listening then; he’s certainly not listening now. The chaos continues. The general election cannot come soon enough.”