A long-standing Lib Dem councillor who works on the Cumberland Council has resigned from the party and joined the Conservatives.

Trevor Allison, who represents the Dalston and Burgh ward, made the decision to resign this week, joining the Conservative party.

Talking about his decision, Cllr Allison said he believed the Conservatives best represented his values now.

He said: “I decided to join the Conservatives as there was a drift in the direction of the local liberals, away from community and towards petty politics and trying to score cheap political points.

“I have always been a local campaigner, dedicated to the Dalston community which I am elected to serve.

"Although this has been a difficult decision, I believe that the Conservatives best represent my values of making our communities better places to live in.”

The move has been welcomed by the local Conservative group, which is a minority on the Labour-dominated council.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said he was pleased to hear the news: “I am delighted he has decided to join.

“He has been a very good councillor over the years, and he clearly recognises what we are doing locally

“He is clearly disillusioned by the Liberal Democrats but, more importantly, he has joined the Conservatives.

“He’s done a lot of good work for Dalston.”

Joining Mr Stevenson was Cumberland councillor Andy Pratt, who represents Millom, and said: “Anyone moving to us is welcomed.

“We think it will be just the start and we are expecting some by-elections at some point soon, so any more numbers will help us at this stage.”

Cllr Pratt said this thought is shared across the council because some of the new councillors cannot handle the workload, given that it is more than when the authorities were separate.

Workington MP Mark Jenkinson, who inherits the Dalston ward at the next general election due to parliamentary boundaries, said he was looking forward to campaigning with Trevor.

He said: “With boundary changes to Parliamentary seats, Dalston will soon be part of the Penrith and Solway constituency.

“I look forward to campaigning and working with Trevor for residents living in Dalston Ward.

"It is important that we continue to support the local community like John Stevenson and previous Conservative councillors have done over a number of years.”

However, the move has been criticised by Lib Dem Cumberland councillor Tim Pickstone, who represents the Longtown ward.

He said: “We are obviously disappointed that Cllr Allison has made this very unusual decision to join the Conservative party.

“This comes just weeks after the Conservatives lost over 1,000 local councillors in a disastrous set of local elections. 

“I know the voters in Dalston and Burgh ward will also be disappointed.

“After electing Liberal Democrat councillors for over 20 years, their representative is now a Conservative that they didn't vote for."