THE decision of a group of Christchurch Conservative councillors to stand as independents for the new unitary authority was “perfectly legitimate”, their MP has said.

Seven existing members of Christchurch council, including five Tories, have announced their intention to not be aligned to any political party.

They say that the Conservative Party ‘sold out’ its residents by pushing ahead with the councils’ merger.

The group, including current leader David Flagg and mayor Lesley Dedman, say they are ‘concerned’ about the new ‘Bournemouth-dominated’ council.

Christchurch MP Sir Chris Chope said there was no automatic reason they should be disciplined by the party.

He said: “The ball now is in the court of the Conservative Party in Christchurch. Will Christchurch put up candidates against strong independents?

“We’re not talking about their existing role as councillors. None of them is resigning the whip on Christchurch Borough Council, none is leaving the party, but a number have expressed an intention that when it comes to another election, they intend to stand as independents. That’s a perfectly legitimate thing for a Conservative Party member to do.”

He said the leadership of the new council should listen to concerns from Christchurch, including over the proposal for its residents to initially pay higher council taxes until the system is “harmonised”.

“I see this expression of intent by some councillors in Christchurch rather as plea for help to people in the rest of the conurbation, to say ‘Hang on, just think about what you’re expecting us to do’ and ‘Where’s the spirit of compromise?’.”

Former Poole leader Cllr Elaine Atkinson said she understood why the Christchurch councillors had taken the decision.

She said: “I’m not sure it’s the right way to go about tackling a perceived dominance within the new council but I’m not going to criticise them for it.

“We are days away from the new council and I do agree that the whole thing seems to be very Bournemouth and Poole focused.

“I think some of the protests from Christchurch have kept them away from a lot of the early discussions which I don’t think has helped this.”

Cllr Atkinson, who has not been selected to stand in May’s elections by the Conservative Party said she remained a “committed Conservative” but that she could consider standing as an independent in the council’s first elections.

One of only two independents on Bournemouth council, Cllr Stephen Bartlett, ‘understood’ Christchurch members’ fears.

“I would not like the new council to be as controlled as Bournemouth currently is,” the former Conservative said. “Ward councillors basically have to do what they are told and there’s very rarely any real debate

.”