Three Wirral councillors defect to Reform UK

Three Wirral Conservative councillors have defected to Reform UK.

The trio of husband and wife Kathryn and Andrew Hodson and Graham Davies will form the party's first group on the local authority.

No party currently has overall control of Wirral Council, although Labour is the largest group.

The councillors, who represent the Heswall, Gayton and Barnston wards, broke away from the borough's Tories last year, sitting independently and rebranding themselves as "independent Conservatives".

They said they left the Conservative party because "it has moved away from its core principles and we no longer have confidence in the Tories' ability to govern".

Wirral does not have local elections this May.

The next time voters in the borough will have the chance to elect councillors will be in 2027.

Elsewhere in the Liverpool city region, Councillor David Hawley who represents Bold and Lea Green has quit the Green group on St Helens Council to join Reform UK.

Unlike Wirral, St Helens is holding "all-out" elections in May, with every seat on the authority up for grabs.

The council is currently Labour dominated – with the party holding 28 of the 48 seats on the authority.

The Greens are currently the second largest party, with four members following Hawley's departure.

St Helens is a key target for Reform in May's elections.

The borough had the biggest "leave" vote in the city region in the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The party came second in both St Helens parliamentary constituencies in 2024's general election, but Labour has held both seats with large majorities since they were created.

The Conservatives came second in most general elections prior to 2024, and have two councillors on the authority.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.