The police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire , Rupert Matthews, has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK.

Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage made the announcement at a press conference today (August 4th).

Mr Matthews has held the position since 2021 and was re-elected in 2024.

He served as an MEP for the East Midlands for the Tories between 2017 and 2019.

His defection makes Mr Matthews the first-ever Reform PCC.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Mr Matthews said the “dark heart of wokeness” needed to be cut out of the criminal justice system.

He said: “The self-serving, self-entitled liberal elite who have let our country down time after time are now on notice that their day is almost done, be they Conservative or

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