Labour County Councillor in Lancashire joins Tories

Conservatives on Lancashire County Council have warmly welcomed the latest defection of an opposition party councillor to their group. Labour Party stalwart and Morecambe South County Councillor Albert Thornton who has been a County Councillor for the past 11 years crossed the council chamber at County Hall to join the Conservative group on Wednesday.

This is the second opposition politician to join the Conservative group in recent months as a leading Liberal Democrat County Councillor Norman Abram defected in the autumn.

Albert Thornton has served on the County Council since 1997. The former Labour politician who campaigns for the elderly and animal rights groups resigned from the Labour Party on Wednesday and emailed his former colleagues outlining his reasons behind his decision.

CC Albert Thornton has now applied to join the Conservative group at County Hall and the Morecambe and Lunesdale Conservative Association.

County Councillor Albert Thornton is an experienced local campaigner with countless interests he currently serves on numerous bodies in the Lancaster area and is currently the Chairman of SACRE. He is a member of the Police Community Forum, Coastal Issues Group, Lancaster CVS, the Lancaster Canal, Carers' Forum,, North Lancashire, Lancaster District Older Person's Partnership Board and the Crime and Disorder Reduction (Community Safety Partnership to name a few.

County Cllr Albert Thornton commented:

"My decision has come after much careful thought, I represent my constituents first and foremost I supported the Conservative proposal to allocate much needed highway monies for pavements in Morecambe. The courtesy and respect shown by Conservative councillors on the Lancaster Lancashire Local to me following that decision made me realise I would be best placed to serve the community I represent by joining the Conservative Party."

Lancashire County Council Conservative Leader Geoff Driver said,

"Albert is a long serving and experienced County Councillor who will be an asset to our team at County Hall. I am delighted to welcome him to the Conservative group at County Hall. It is becoming increasingly clear to our political opponents that the Conservative group's policies make sense and provide well thought out proposals as to how the County Council can and should serve the people of Lancashire. The sooner a Conservative administration takes control of the County Council the better it will be for all Lancashire residents."