Drake councillor Steve Ricketts has left the Independents to join Reform UK and become the party’s first councillor on Plymouth City Council.

The councillor said “every fibre of my body wants to help Reform win the next election”.

Cllr Ricketts was first elected to the council in 2006 for the Drake ward as a Conservative but lost his seat in 2018, winning again as an Independent in 2023.

His decision to join Reform UK had not been taken lightly, he said.

“It’s not been an easy decision, I could have gone on as an Independent with very strong support but the country is in absolute crisis and we need change. At the end of the day you have to go with how you feel.”

He added that he was also doing what was in the best interest of Drake ward, where he had lived for 27 years.

“For over 20 years, residents have trusted me to represent their concerns and protect our neighbourhood – and that remains my passion,” he said.

“My priority has always been — and will continue to be — standing up for Drake Ward as a strong voice for local people.”

As well as campaigning against asylum hotels and raising immigration issues, he has recently criticised the Labour administration for spending money on buying family homes for children’s homes in the city - when repurposing redundant assets would save the council money.

He said that he was frustrated with Labour “throwing money around left, right and centre” and “not being able to take criticism” .

Cllr Ricketts’ seat is not one of the 19 being contested in May’s Plymouth City Council elections, but he said he expected many Labour seats to fall to Reform.

“I expect to be joined by many more Reform councillors come the election – there is a storm coming through, it’s all going in that direction, he said.

With Labour’s current majority, it will still be the party in overall power come May even if it lost all its seats.

Cllr Ricketts’ decision leaves the main opposition parties – the Independents and Conservatives with six and seven councillors respectively.

He said, under a Reform council, Plymouth would excel and not be “suffocated by taxation”.

Asked whether another defection would affect his credibility as a councillor, Cllr Ricketts said: “I believe it’s time for Reform to go to the next level but a political ding dong is not my style. I care about my community and they will come first.”

He said the three main reasons why he had joined Reform were that it was “the only party who would tackle the small boats crisis, not tax everyone to the hilt and sort out the welfare state”.

Leader of Plymouth City Council Tudor Evans (Ham) is calling for Cllr Ricketts to stand down so there can be a by-election. He said: “Councillor Ricketts stood in 2023 as an environmentally-minded Independent. I can’t imagine how voters in Drake ward will now feel about this betrayal.

“He now needs to do the right thing and stand down. To take such a significant step without residents’ endorsement is simply not acceptable. If he is so certain that’s what the residents of Drake want, to be represented by a party of division, he shouldn’t be afraid of giving them the opportunity to vote.”