Mid-Holderness councillor Samantha Christon-Whyte has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK.
On Wednesday, February 26, Mid-Holderness councillor Samantha Christon-Whyte, who was first elected in 2023, officially announced her defection from the Conservative Party to Reform UK, citing a growing frustration with local government spending and a desire for greater transparency.
She said: “I enjoy being on the scrutiny committees that I’m on. I like challenging and making sure we’re doing everything to the best of our ability. And I just don’t feel that when I was with the Conservatives, they were actually looking hard enough for those inefficiencies.
“When the budget came, I was uncomfortable in putting people’s Council Tax up if we are not making sure that we’re checking and double-checking that we were being as efficient as we could be.”
Citing her reasons for moving to the Reform Party, she added: “Reform are doing the best for residentsby tackling inefficiency, waste, etc. The party aligns much more to my thinking than what the Conservatives do right now.”
She says the move will give her more freedom to put forward motions that align with the needs of residents.
The move brings the total number of Reform UK councillors in the East Riding to three. She will join the group leader, South East Holderness councillor Jon Dimberline, and East Wolds and Coastal ward councillr Denise Howard.
Cllr Dimberline said: “I am delighted to welcome Cllr Whyte to our team. We are working together as a ‘family team’ defined by the freedom to express ourselves and collaborate to build a better future within the council.
“It’s very easy for us to say what we would do. We’re also not criticising what other people have done, we just say our way will be a different way – and not to try is not to know. We have respect and admiration for everybody involved in running the council, and other parties. We will work with people no matter what their political aspirations are.”