"No chance" of Salisbury MP making Reform UK switch from Tories
John Glen says MP's changing political allegiances should need to renew their mandate
Salisbury's MP insists there is "absolutely no chance" of him betraying the trust placed in him by his constituents and switching to Reform UK.
John Glen says it would be wrong for him to follow ex-Conservative minister, Nadine Dorries, to the party led by Nigel Farage.
Mr Glen, who has represented Salisbury as a Conservative since 2010, admits it's sad when people leave a political party they've long been committed to.
But he insists he's focused on being an effective representative for the city.
"Obviously nobody wants to lose people from a political party, but we press on. We are the official opposition. We have 120 members of Parliament and we are doing everything we can to hold this government to account," he said.
Asked if there was a chance of him leaving the Tories, Mr Glen said it wouldn't be happening.
He said: "There's absolutely no chance of me betraying the trust that the people of Salisbury put in me. I stood as a Conservative and, for the duration of this Parliament, I will do everything I can on the mandate that they've given me under our system as it is."
He added that people vote for him for a variety of reasons, but they all do so knowing he is standing for election as a Conservative.
He told us that changing party alliances should see MP's need to stand for election again.
"I stood under a banner as a Conservative and I was elected as a Conservative. It seems completely wrong to then, you know, change that banner and not take a general by-election. So my view would be that, you know, people should seek to renew their mandate if they wish to change party," he said.