Stevenage councillor Mason Humberstone defects from Labour to Reform, the first sitting Labour councillor in England to do so

Mason Humberstone, a Labour councillor on Stevenage Borough Council, has defected to the Reform Party, saying Labour has "left" ordinary people and accusing the party of speaking for a "metropolitan elite." The move makes him, according to local reports, the first sitting Labour councillor in England to switch directly to Nigel Farage’s party.

Humberstone, who represents the Old Town ward and is described as the council's youngest member in his mid-20s, announced the decision on Twitter and said he had "battled with this decision for some time. But deep down, I know it's the right call." He wrote that the party he left was "lost, without vision, mired in scandal, and too often speaking for a metropolitan elite rather than the people they're meant to serve."

Humberstone has represented Old Town since 2023 and was previously a youth councillor. Local reporting noted that in 2016 he identified Barack Obama as a political role model and had listed mental health, gay rights and improving police-public relations among his priorities. His critics pointed to his recent council attendance record; official figures show he attended 10 of the 33 council and committee meetings he was expected to attend in the past year.

Labour's Stevenage council leader, Richard Henry, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Humberstone had "jumped ship with no fair warning for personal and political gain." Henry said he had sought to accommodate and mentor Humberstone but raised concerns over attendance, punctuality, adherence to commitments and dedication to the role.

Kevin Bonavia, the Labour MP for Stevenage, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the defection and urged Humberstone to resign and seek a fresh mandate in a by-election. "I will not be distracted by political opportunism as I continue to focus on working day and night to secure positive changes for our town and villages," Bonavia added.

Humberstone said in his announcement that he entered politics "to serve with integrity and respect" and that he now believed he was joining a party "that will put the British people and our great nation first." He said he felt "proud to be part of this team and ready to get to work."

Reform has been recruiting from across the political spectrum in recent months. Earlier this week, party figures unveiled former Conservative shadow minister Danny Kruger as a new recruit, followed by Maria Caulfield. Other politicians who left Labour before joining Reform have included MP Lee Anderson and election candidate Simon Danczuk, and earlier this year a Scottish councillor, Jamie McGuire, moved from Scottish Labour to Reform.

The switch in Stevenage comes as Reform seeks to broaden its appeal beyond its core base and as national parties prepare for the next round of local and national contests. Local officials said Humberstone's defection changes the arithmetic on the borough council but did not immediately alter overall control.

Humberstone's comments and the formal notice of his party change are the latest developments in an episode that local Labour figures framed as opportunistic and concerning for democratic accountability because he did not immediately resign his seat. Labour's call for him to seek re-election echoes longstanding convention that councillors who change party allegiance should offer themselves to voters for a fresh mandate, though there is no legal requirement to do so.

The Reform Party did not immediately provide a comment to local media on Humberstone's announcement beyond welcoming new recruits this week. Stevenage council officials confirmed the formal notification of Humberstone's change of party affiliation and said updated council records would reflect the move.

Humberstone's transfer to Reform is part of a small but notable trend of defections and party switches at local level that have seen politicians move between or leave the established parties in recent years. Observers said such moves can affect local political dynamics and contribute to broader national narratives about party realignment, recruitment and voter representation.

Local and national parties will now assess any electoral implications in Stevenage as attention turns to how Reform capitalises on recent high-profile recruits and whether Labour local structures seek to recover ground ahead of future contests.