An outgoing Tory MP has been suspended by the party after she backed Reform UK.
Lucy Allan endorsed Alan Adams to succeed her as the MP for Telford as Rishi Sunak’s stuttering general election campaign went from bad to worse.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter) she said: “I am supporting Alan Adams to be Telford’s next MP. If you want to help Alan or donate to his campaign, sign up on his website.”
Within an hour, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Lucy Allan has been suspended from the party with immediate effect.
“The people of Telford now have the chance to vote for a dedicated and hardworking new candidate who will put Telford first. A vote for Reform is a vote for Keir Starmer.”
However, Allan later insisted she had already quit the party before being suspended.
She was first elected MP for Telford in 2015 and announced last year that she was standing down at the election.
The Tory election candidate, Hannah Campbell, is defending a majority of 10,941.
The row is just the latest blow to the Tories’ terrible election campaign so far.
Sunak announced the date in the pouring rain while being drowned out by a protester playing New Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, and if anything it has got worse since then.
His flagship plan to make all 18-year-olds do national service has been widely criticised and has quickly unravelled as ministers have been unable to answer basic questions on how it will operate.