Overview

• Two Radlett councillors, Caroline Clapper and Brett Rosehill, were among 20 Conservatives who defected to Reform UK on October 7 during the party conference.
• Caroline Clapper says she will remain as Watling’s county councillor rather than resign or seek a fresh mandate in a by-election.
• Hertfordshire Conservative figures, including council group leader Richard Roberts and the local party association, called for resignations and criticised the announcement’s timing on October 7.
• The changes raise Reform UK’s representation on Hertfordshire County Council to 15 seats and reduce the Conservatives to 21.
• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the move as a Reform “stunt” and said defectors “lack mettle,” urging her party to hold its nerve in opposition.