Leicester Tory councilor quits party to run as independent

A city councilor has quit his party to stand as an independent candidate for the seat of Leicester East at the next general election. Nags Agath was elected as a Conservative member of Leicester City Council in the local elections last May.

He has now announced that he has resigned from the party and will be an independent councillor. He has also joined the race to be the next MP for Leicester East.

He will face Claudia Webbe, who won the seat at the last general election in 2019, and Keith Vaz, who held it for 32 years before that. Coun Agath said he was “urged to support” local people and believes the constituency needs “a strong, independent voice in Parliament”.

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He also criticized the national party’s selection process, saying they had “abandoned candidates” on local members. A local party spokesman said: “Count Nags Agath has decided to stand in the general election as an independent candidate and has therefore left the Conservative Party.

“We are focused on the general election and making sure our beloved city is represented by a party that cares about its people and encourages investment in local businesses to create new jobs and opportunities.”

The local party also expressed support for its Leicester East candidate, Shivani Raja, saying: “Shivani is an experienced businesswoman and community leader with over a decade of experience working with multinational organizations before to start his own business in Leicester.

“He understands what Leicester needs and is a clean break from a host of career politicians.”

Coun Agath said: “Leicester East has been deprived of good representation and deserves an MP who is local, lives in the constituency, looks after peoples interests and serves them. The Conservative Party elected inexperienced candidates (who were) thrown at (us) against the wishes of the local Conservative Party members in Leicester East.

“Many people and members have urged me to stay and give real representation to the people of Leicester East. Therefore, I (have) submitted my name and intend to serve him with dedication.

“I urge everyone to come out and support me and I assure the people of Leicester East that your voice will be heard and your concerns will be addressed. My goal is to earn your hearts and trust by working tirelessly to improve our community.

“That is why I am an independent candidate. I believe our community needs a strong, independent voice in Parliament – someone who truly understands our needs and fights for us. Your vote is your voice.”

Also running for the seat are Rajesh Agrawal for Labour, Zuffar Haq for the Liberal Democrats, Mags Lewis for the Green Party, Shivani Raja for the Conservative Party, Raj Solanki for Reform UK, Keith Vaz for One Leicester and Claudia Webbe as an independent.

You can find a list of candidates who have declared themselves to be running so far here. A breakdown of the constituency changes can be found here.