The police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK.

Rupert Matthews has held the position since 2021 and served as an MEP for the East Midlands for the Tories between 2017 and 2019.

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

“The self-serving, self-entitled liberal elite who have let our country down time after time are now on notice their day is almost done,” he said.

“Be they Conservative or Labour governments, everyone knows our politicians have failed us all. They have let this country down. They have let the British people down. Enough. Now is the time for Reform.”