Conservative Bucks councillor joins Liberal Democrats calling new party 'community champions'

Jonathan Waters, who represents the Penn Wood and Old Amersham ward, confirmed he had resigned from the Tories, saying the party leadership has ‘stopped listening to our residents’.

He said: “It has become clear to me that it is the Liberal Democrats who are the community champions here in Buckinghamshire.”

Councillor Waters said he valued the ‘pragmatism’ of the Lib Dems, saying they were ‘not a party of dogma, greed or envy’ and that he looked forward to working with the party’s MP for Chesham and Amersham Sarah Green.

The former Tory will sit as part of the Liberal Democrat group on Buckinghamshire Council during full council meetings.

In the local elections he will stand with Mike West, the chair of Penn Parish Council, for the new two-member ward of Penn, Tylers Green and Loudwater.

Ms Green said she was ‘delighted’ Councillor Waters would be joining the ‘hard-working’ ranks of Liberal Democrat councillors.

She said: “I have worked with Jonathan across a number of local issues, and he stands out as genuinely committed to achieving change for the benefit of his residents, and for Buckinghamshire as a whole.”

Susan Morgan, leader of the Lib Dem group on the council, praised Councillor Waters’ ‘commitment and effectiveness’ as a councillor.

She said: “It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome him to the Liberal Democrats, an alignment that reflects our shared values, approaches, and objectives.”

Councillor Waters is one of several Tories in the council’s majority Conservative bloc who will not be representing the party in May.

The departures come as the number of councillors in the unitary authority will be reduced from 147 to 97 councillors at the next elections.

A council source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “A number of high-profile Conservatives haven’t been selected. There are also too many Lib Dems for the reduced number of places available.”

Councillor Waters’ exit from the Tories comes after Councillor Diana Blamires in Wing also revealed she had resigned from the party earlier this month and would sit as an Independent with immediate effect and be unaffiliated as she stands in the May elections.

Councillor Waters has been a councillor since November 2017.