Melton's MP reiterates loyalty to Tories following Reform UK defections
Melton’s MP has reiterated his loyalty to the Conservative Party and says he has no intention of following former colleague Robert Jenrick in defecting to Reform UK.
Edward Argar backed the response of his party’s leader, Kemi Badenoch, after she discovered evidence that Mr Jenrick was planning to ‘cross the floor’ in the House of Commons.
Mrs Badenoch fired him from his role of shadow justice minister and also stripped him of the whip – a few hours later he was unveiled by leader Nigel Farage as a new Reform UK MP.
Mr Argar told the Melton Times: “Kemi Badenoch rightly responded with firm and decisive leadership to last week’s events.”
The Melton MP served alongside Mr Jenrick in the governments of former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak but they are now political opponents in Westminster.
Mr Jenrick’s defection followed former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi moving to Reform UK just a week before.
About 20 former Conservative MPs have now moved to the party in recent years.
Polls show Reform UK has a clear lead in current voting intentions but Mr Argar says he remains ‘a proudly Conservative MP’.
"I remain fully focussed as Melton and Syston’s Conservative MP on working with local Conservative Councillors and the strong local Conservative team, and indeed with the whole community, getting on with the job of serving the people of Melton, the villages, and the whole constituency, rather than indulging in Westminster dramas,” he told us.
"There is hugely important work to do, and I will continue campaigning on local issues like St Mary’s Birth Centre, GP provision locally, standing up for our farmers and rural communities, for completion of the Melton bypass, to save Melton’s theatre and enhance our local SEND provision, among many others, and in holding this failing government to account."
”And I will continue doing so as a proudly Conservative MP who remains grateful to the people of Melton and Syston for the trust they placed in me as a Conservative MP at the last election.”
Mr Argar won the Melton & Syston seat in July 2024 with a 5,396 majority.