WELWYN HATFIELD Labour councillors have been left 'shocked' and disappointed' by a former colleague jumping ship to join the opposition party.

Sam Smith announced this week he had officially joined the Conservative party.

Mr Smith, who was employed by the Labour party and represented Haldens ward as a Labour councillor for three years before stepping down in the last year's elections, said he had become “increasingly disappointed by in-fighting and confusion” within the party, both at a local and national level.

Former ally and Labour representative for Hatfield Central Maureen Cook, who has known Mr Smith for 12 years since he was a student at Stanborough School, said: "I'm quite disappointed and shocked that somebody whose always had Labour values and worked for the Labour party could turn around and do this.

"He had been a member of the Labour party ever since he was old enough to be a member of the Labour party -I'm not quite sure what has made him tick."

"He's trying to make trouble and I have no idea why. He's not someone I would have expected at all to do that.

"When he stood down from Haldens he told the Labour Party that he was going to move out of Welwyn Garden City because he was looking for another job - he was living with his mother at the time.

"Perhaps he's decided to stay in Welwyn Garden City. It could be that Sam Smith fancies himself as a councillor again and thinks by joining the Conservatives they might have him as a councillor."

But according to the council leader John Dean, Labour's loss is the Tory party's gain.

He said: “Sam was respected as a councillor even when he sat on the Labour benches. I’m so pleased he’s decided to put his backing behind us. It shows that even former Labour supporters are turning to the Conservative agenda as the way forward for our country and our borough.”