Councillor who swapped Greens for Reform won't tell us why |
Councillor who swapped Greens for Reform won't tell us why
The ECHO has reached out several times to Cllr David Hawley to ask him for an interview about his major decision
St Helens councillor David Hawley has joined Reform UK from The Green Party
A Merseyside councillor who swapped The Green Party for Reform UK has failed to respond to repeated requests for an interview to answer questions about his decision from the ECHO.
Earlier this month, Cllr David Hawley, who represents the Bold and Lea Green ward on St Helens Council caused quite a stir when he announced that he would be swapping The Green Party, for whom he had been elected to the council, for Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform party.
It is not unusual to see defections to Reform at present, and in fact on the same morning we had seen three other Merseyside councillors join Farage's band. The difference being they had all previously been Tories, which is a little bit less of a political journey.
In ditching the left-wing environmentalism of The Greens, for whom he was elected in 2022 and joining a party known for its right-wing populism Cllr Hawley has travelled quite a distance, although he did vote for Brexit.
In a prepared statement, sent out by Reform to mark the move, Cllr Hawley said: “Today I am proud to have joined Reform UK after defecting from the Green Party. During my time as a councillor, I have passionately worked alongside the local community to better protect green spaces, improve public transport and engage with local schools. However, my views no longer align with my previous party, on a national and local level.
“I voted for Brexit to take back control of Britain’s borders and lower immigration, yet the government failed to do so.
“It is time for me to join the party which best represents the views of myself and the people of St Helens in order to act on the improvements I have long strived for."
St Helens councillor David Hawley has joined Reform UK from The Green Party
The statement suggests that his views "no longer align" with his previous party on both a national and local level and that he has joined a party which best represents his views and the people of St Helens.
But what about the views of the people who voted him in as a Green councillor in Bold and Lea Green? Do they not matter?
We don't purport to speak for them, but it stands to reason that there may be some surprise and consternation from those who voted for a local Green representative who is now a councillor for Reform UK.
If he was willing to answer questions from us, as requested, our first one would be to ask whether he thinks that those changing party should automatically call a by-election, particularly when the values of the parties they have switched from and to are so clearly different.
It's something his now boss would presumably agree with. In 2022, when Tory MP Christian Wakeford defected to Labour, Nigel Farage tweeted that Wakeford was a 'dishonourable Member' for not calling an election after swapping parties.
Mr Farage has been less fulsome in his calls for the same action from the likes of Robert Jenrick and Nadhim Zahawi after they ditched the Conservatives for Reform UK in recent months.
But this wouldn't be the only question we would have for Cllr Hawley - there are many topics we would like to cover, such as whether his views on tackling climate change and Net Zero have changed and whether his decision to jump to Reform has anything to do with the widespread feeling that the party will be very successful in May's forthcoming all out local elections in St Helens.
Sadly, despite emails and calls to Cllr Hawley and his new party, he is yet to accept our invitation to answer questions about his dramatic political journey. An odd stance for someone who is so proud of the move they have just made.