A FORMER UKIP councillor has said he will stand as an Independent candidate in the local election because of “goons” within the Basingstoke UKIP party’s membership.

Councillor Stephen West, who was a UKIP councillor for the Tadley Central ward on the borough council, announced his intention to quit the UKIP party and stand as an Independent at the May 7 election on his website.

In the post, Cllr West said that he didn’t believe there was a place for party politics in local Government and urged Tadley residents to look at the “track record of the person” they were voting for and “consider who is best for the job”.

He slated the UKIP party for its “fractious nature” and “goons within its membership” adding: “It has been my honour to serve as your borough councillor for the past 12 years. During my time as a councillor, I have had many battles on behalf of Tadley. Sadly, too many of these battles have been between or within political parties that have sought to put their own agenda ahead of those that they should represent.

“As you know, I became a UKIP member in 2012 and while I still support the core values of a strong and independent Great Britain, the fractious nature of Basingstoke UKIP and some of the goons within its membership has been both a distraction and an obstruction to my role as a borough councillor.

“For all of these reasons above, I will be standing for election as an Independent Councillor free from interference and political dogma with my only agenda being your agenda.”

Cllr West has been a UKIP councillor for two-and-a-half years since he defected from the borough’s Conservative group in September 2012 after becoming “at odds” with the party which he had been a member of for 12 years.

In September 2013, Cllr West was caught up in a row over claims he had quit UKIP.

Stan Tennison, the chairman of the Basingstoke UKIP branch, said: “It is disappointing but a man has got to make his own political choices.

“The guys here (the Basingstoke branch) are massively enthusiastic and we have got a really good team who want to serve the town and its people.”

He pointed out that Cllr West is a member of the North West Hampshire UKIP branch, not Basingstoke.

The Gazette has been unable to get hold of Cllr West for a comment .