A former Labour Party candidate at Huntingdonshire District Council has left the party and pledged his support for Cllr Stephen Ferguson ahead of the General Election.

Saul Jeavons was a Labour Party candidate at the Huntingdonshire District Council election in 2018, for Little Paxton and Priory Park.

Today (May 28), he announced that he leaves the Labour Party with immediate effect to "sign the nomination papers" for the Independent candidate.

Cllr Ferguson is standing as the Independent candidate for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire at the July 4 General Election.

Mr Jeavons said of his resignation: "At the time (2018), Labour seemed the obvious place to be. But as I say, politics has changed, and Labour’s central decision to field a candidate in our constituency with zero track record in a rural area, let alone in Cambridgeshire, was a sign that it is no longer the party for me."

He described Cllr Ferguson as "a person of the calibre we need in public life.

"A person dedicated to serving the best interests of his constituents rather than the best interests of his party.

"A man who listens to all of the arguments and is prepared to make up his mind about where the right place is to stand on an issue - irrespective of whether it makes him more popular or not."

Recommended Reading: General Election: St Neots Independent Stephen Ferguson

Mr Jeavons said that his elderly father asked, "Where are the grown-ups?" in politics, to which Mr Jeavons replied - "It’s time for a grown-up. It’s time for Stephen Ferguson, and I believe he can win."

In his statement, Mr Jeavons recalled Cllr Ferguson's time at Cambridgeshire County Council, saying that "he is a person who does the right thing without fear or favour, not what he is told by a party whip."