Clacton's MP Douglas Carswell on why local comes first in wake of Ukip divorce

Ukip’s only MP Mr Carswell quit the party to sit in the House of Commons as an Independent after defecting from Conservatives in August 2014.

In a letter on his blog site TalkCarswell.com, the Clacton MP claimed he was exiting "amicably” and “cheerfully” in the knowledge Ukip won the Brexit vote.

His sudden announcement precedes Prime Minister Theresa May triggering Article 50 on Wednesday, which will formally start the UK’s two-year exit process from the EU. Mr Carswell claimed this is what Ukip was “established to do”.

Speaking exclusively to the Gazette, Mr Carswell stressed Brexit was a key motivation for joining Ukip, but also a priority since he was first elected to represent Clacton in 2005.

Brexiteer - MP Douglas vying for last minute votes

He said: “I made the switch to Ukip because I felt so passionately about getting us out of the EU.

“But my absolute priority is not Europe, it’s sorting out the safeguarding of local services. This is why I triggered a parliamentary debate on the minor injuries units and the future of primary care in our part of Essex, and it’s why I’m meeting with Abellio to talk about the potential closure of their ticket offices across the district.

“I’m going to bring all of the energy and determination I used in the referendum campaign to focus on improving local services now.”

The exit from Ukip comes just weeks after Mr Carswell declared he is “100 per cent Ukip” despite calls to quit from Tendring councillors.

He said in a statement: “UKIP might not have managed to win many seats in Parliament, but in a way we are the most successful political party in Britain ever,” before adding: “We have changed the course of our country’s history for the better.

“Make no mistake, we would not be leaving the EU if it was not for UKIP – and for those remarkable people who founded, supported and sustained our party over that period.”

Earlier this month, former party leader Nigel Farage urged colleagues to expel Mr Carswell, suggesting he never really left the Conservatives.

Mr Carswell is resisting calls to trigger a by-election in his Clacton seat because he is not switching allegiances to another party.

But Mr Farage’s ally and Ukip’s biggest financial backer, Arron Banks, has said he must call a vote and has promised to stand against him.

Poles apart - Douglas Carswell and Nigel Farage in Clacton

Mr Farage also revealed he plans to write to each Clacton resident to ask if they want a by-election, pointing out Mr Carswell’s previous support of plans to allow constituents to recall MPs and trigger by-elections.

If 20 per cent of constituents demand it, a by-election should be called.

However, Mr Carswell told the Gazette: “When I made the switch from Conservatives to Ukip, I triggered a by-election and I was the first MP to insist upon doing that, and choosing to do that, in nearly 30 years.

“At the time there were a lot of people who criticised me saying it was an unnecessary by-election and those same voices are now being heard asking why I don’t call one.

“We’ve had an awful lot of elections quite recently so I’m going to stay as an independent, and wait and see.”

While a cross-section of constituents have hailed his resignation from Ukip as a success for Clacton, the bold politician maintained he has had “pretty solid and overwhelming feedback saying it was the right choice and well done”.

He remained undaunted by the harsh words he is likely to encounter from Tendring councillors.

“If you look at the leaders of some of the political groupings in Tendring, of course some of them are going to be critical, it’s what they do,” he said.

“But I think most people who voted for me in the by-election and General Election shared my seriousness about getting out of the European Union.

"They now want me to focus on the minor injuries units and local issues.”