Mark Reckless dropped a bomb on the Ukip conference in Doncaster today, announcing his surprise defection from the Tories. In this View from 22 special, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss why Reckless switched sides, how Ukip managed to keep the news secret, what it means for the upcoming Conservative Party conference and whether we can expect to see any more defections before May 2015.
The Ukip faithful were delighted to hear Reckless was now one of them. Isabel describes the reaction in the conference hall:
'There were grown men bawling with excitement at him and women dancing around with joy. I’ve never been to a political conference where people have been euphoric like that' And naturally the party is delighted — James on how much this defection matters to Ukip:
"This is a coup for Ukip.
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