A DISENCHANTED Chiltern Conservative has announced he is defecting to UKIP, with party leader Nigel Farage claiming more will follow suit.

David Meacock, district councillor for Chalfont Common Ward, handed in his resignation from the Conservative party today, calling the government ‘toffee-nosed buffoons’ and criticising their handling the proposed HS2 rail link.


Cllr Meacock claims his position as a Tory has become untenable amid the party’s plans to press ahead with HS2, a move he vehemently opposes.


“I cannot in all honesty continue to ask the local electorate to support the Conservative Party when it is so determinedly hell-bent on destroying our cherished Chilterns,” he said.


“That’s a bit like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.”


Cllr Meacock maintains it is “ludicrous” for him to continue representing voters as a Conservative, claiming the high-speed rail link represents no justifiable national benefit.


He will now stand for UKIP in the Bucks County Council elections on May 2.
 

Mr Farage, UKIP leader, has welcomed the move, and believes Cllr Meacock’s decision was inevitable in the current climate.


He told the BFP: “The sheer level of disenchantment people are feeling with the Conservative Party has reached fever pitch.


“You can see that with our strong showing in recent by-elections, and this move further shows the strength of feeling in one of the Conservative Party’s biggest strongholds.


“The HS2 project will be an absolute blight on our landscape, and David Cameron is fanatical about pushing it through despite the strength of public feeling against it."


Cllr Nick Rose, Conservative leader of the council, does not believe Mr Meacock’s decision is the shape of things to come for his party.


He said: “I wish him well for his endeavours with UKIP, though I suspect he may come to regret his decision in the future.


“There is obviously some dissatisfaction with the Conservative party out there, but this move is an isolated incident and I don’t think it will translate into a great deal of support for UKIP in the long run.”


Cllr Meacock’s defection comes ahead of a judicial review currently planned for April 17 and 18 over the allocation of the site in the area for the controversial new link between London and Birmingham.
 

The review will be based on how educational needs were taken into account in the plan, as well as a raft of planning issues in deciding the route.


Andrew Garnett, chairman of the Chesham and Amersham Conservative Association, has questioned UKIP’s openness about their opposition to HS2, as well as Cllr Meacock’s decision to switch parties.


“UKIP have been dishonest about their position over HS2,” he said. “In 2010, they supported three high-speed rail links in their manifesto.


“David Meacock has been a long term semi-detached member of our party, and I would also question the timing of his decision after he failed to secure a Conservative Party nomination for a county council seat.”