A second Conservative member of Lichfield District Council has quit the party in as many days.
The local authority’s chair, Cllr Derick Cross, made the switch to become independent yesterday saying he had found the local Tory leadership “constraining” – although he refused to be drawn further on the detail.
He has now been joined by Cllr Serena Mears, who won election to the district council for the first time in the May local elections.
She took the Highfield seat for the Conservatives after topping the poll with 182 votes, but will now become independent member after less than six months in the role.
No reason has been given for Cllr Mears decision, but sources have told Lichfield Live the switch has been carried out in solidarity with Cllr Cross.
The move means the Conservatives now hold 21 of the 47 seats at the council, giving them a majority of just four over Labour.
Cllr Mears hit the headlines in the wake of the local elections where she won seats on the district council as well as Burntwood Town Council and Hammerwich Parish Council.
However, she opted to resign her seat at the town council before the first meeting had even taken place.
The move saw a new member co-opted at the town council with Labour’s Ivan Holdsworth being installed in her place.
