A former Conservative county councillor has defected to Reform UK weeks before local elections on May 1.

Trevor Shonk, who represents Ramsgate, said the outfit led by Nigel Farage was the “only way to forward” because of people’s dissatisfaction with the traditional two-party system.

He was elected to Kent County Council (KCC) as a Tory in a two-seat division alongside Labour’s Karen Constantine in 2021 with 19% of the vote.

This time around, most observers see it as a straight fight between Labour and Reform UK.

Cllr Shonk, who has yet to officially inform KCC of his decision, said: “Reform UK is the only way forward. I think people have become fed up with the two-party system of politics in this country.

“I won’t make promises but I will stand up for Ramsgate - for jobs for young people and against all this building on our agricultural land which is leaving our roads gridlocked.”

Cllr Shonk was suspended from the Conservative Party last year for defying the party whip on housing policy.

He had sided with the Green Party on a motion on the use of housing developer contributions being put towards community improvements as part of planning permissions.

He later allied himself to the Thanet Independent movement.

In 2013, Cllr Shonk was elected to KCC as a member of UKIP but lost the seat four years later.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “This is the latest in a very long list of defections to Reform and doubtless will not be the last.”

Thanet independent county councillor Barry Lewis, who represents nearby Margate, said: “I’ve known Trevor a long time and while his politics and my politics are very different, no one could deny his commitment to Ramsgate which he battles for tirelessly even if it has upset those outside Ramsgate.”