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Party-hopping councillor on the move again
A former mayor has defected to the Conservatives - his third political party in less than three months.
Hanworth councillor Andy Morgan-Watts moved from the Liberal Democrats to the West Area Independents in March, citing his disenchantment with party politics as a motive but will now join the Conservatives, subject to agreement at the group's next meeting.
And in a parting shot Cllr Andy Morgan-Watts's former colleagues in the West Area Independent Group have dubbed him 'Andrew Moveon-Watts'.
Leader of the Independents, Cllr Peter Hills, said: "I am sure many people will agree that this shows an extraordinary level of indecisiveness. However, we feel a sense of relief that he has left due, in part, to his penchant for making inappropriate comments."
Cllr Hills said he and fellow Independent Cllr Linda Nakamura were already considering what action to take about his behaviour and were thankful he had resolved the problem by joining the Conservatives.
"We believe that his only allegiance is to Andrew Morgan-Watts. I believe that his attitude will cause embarrassment to the Conservatives and I am looking forward to the election in May 2010, when the people of Hanworth will be able to vote for Hanworth Independents, based on our achievements for local residents, rather than someone who is only interested in self-promotion."
Cllr Morgan-Watts - who has been a councillor for 11 years and served as Mayor in 2007/8 - is likely to be officially adopted by the Conservative group before the next Borough Council meeting on June 23 and will leave the council with 24 Labour, 24 Conservative, three Liberal Democrat and nine independent councillors.
He said: "I am very open about these things. I made a mistake in the move I made a few weeks ago. I am not political - I just want to make a difference to people.
"They are not going to get a blue flag-waving Tory out of me but the only way I can make a difference is to join the group that has got control."
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How can we trust polititians? This guy is clearly wanting re-election by joining the most likely party to win because he can't do it as an independent. What does that tell us about the man? Why is he really doing this, what is his real motive? I think that Cllrs Hill and Nakamura have hit the nail on the head when they say "We believe that his only allegiance is to Andrew Morgan-Watts".
Do yourself a favour Morgan-Watts don't bother standing, that way you avoid the inevitable humiliation of being rejected by the voters.