A councillor has announced she has changed parties two months after stepping down from Labour.

Cllr Sijuwade Adeoye, who represents Chatham Central on Medway Council, has joined the council's ruling Conservative group.

In October, she announced she had left Medway Labour Group and would be sitting as an independent.

The mum-of-two was elected as one of three councillors to represent Chatham Central ward in 2019, and had been a Labour party member for four years.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was unhappy about the party's attitudes towards racial equality, and she was also not selected by them to stand in another ward for next May's elections.

Cllr Adeoye says her decision to join the Tories was so she could once again be involved in some of the council's committees, which she was unable to do as an independent member, such is the way the council is set up.

She explained: "I'm not an idle person and I don't believe the taxpayers are paying me to do nothing.

"Where you really make the changes are on the committee meetings.

'I'm with the ruling party now, I am with the administration and when it comes to deciding those policies, I'll be able to speak for the people'

"I need to speak for the residents and if there's other avenues to speak for the residents, I'm going to take it."

She said she was approached by the Conservatives following the announcement she had left Labour.

Asked whether she subscribed to Conservative values, she said: "I said this to Alan Jarrett, who's the leader of the party, that I can be very socialist in my viewpoint.

"There are elements of the Conservative values that I do agree with. There are some that I align with, there are some that I don't align with.

"I'm with the ruling party now, I am with the administration and when it comes to deciding those policies, I'll be able to speak for the people.

"I said I will be a critical friend at times, and it's not about how I feel, it's about what I feel is best for the people we serve."

Cllr Adeoye previously said she wanted to stand as a Labour candidate in Gillingham South, where she lives, but was not selected.

She said a decision hasn't been made about whether she will stand in this ward with the Conservatives, but she does want to serve the people of Gillingham.

In a statement, the Medway Labour & Co-operative Group said Cllr Adeoye should "consider her position as a councillor".

A spokesman said: "Siju Adeoye chose not to seek re-election as a Labour candidate in her current ward of Chatham Central. She instead sought to be a Labour candidate in Gillingham and was unsuccessful in their selection process.

"Chatham Central has never elected a Conservative councillor, at the last election they came fifth, and on that basis Siju Adeoye should consider her position as a councillor.

"The Medway Labour and Co-operative Group go into the next local elections with the most diverse team we’ve ever had, with over half of our candidates already selected being women and a record number of BAME candidates."

The next Medway Council election will be on Thursday, May 4.

There will be new election boundaries following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission.

Last week, the authority gained a new councillor in the three-seat Peninsula ward.

Long-time campaigner George Crozer (Ind) won the by-election - which was called following the passing of Mick Pendergast - with a majority of 667 votes.

He has since formed the Independent Group on the council with fellow ward councillor Ron Sands who is the group's deputy leader.