A former Conservative county councillor has joined Reform UK and announced he will stand down to try to win back his seat in a by-election.
Julian Kirk said he had joined Nigel Farage's party in protest at Conservative-run Norfolk County Council's decision to seek the postponement of May's elections to pursue devolution and a shake-up of local councils.
Mr Kirk, who represents Marshland North division in the west of the county, left the Tory group in February to become an independent, but has now joined Reform UK.
He said: "The decision that Norfolk County Council took in agreeing with the Labour government to cancel May's elections was totally undemocratic.
"I think they made that decision because they feared the people of Norfolk would vote them out in May."
He added he was also disappointed former Conservative colleagues had not supported his opposition to new traveller sites in West Walton.
Mr Kirk was first elected to County Hall in May 2021, when, as a Conservative, he won just over 58pc of the vote in Marshland North.
The division includes Terrington St Clement, Tilney All Saints, Walpole, Walpole Cross Keys, Walpole Highway, West Walton and part of Walsoken.
Reform UK, including Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe, had criticised the decision to postpone County Hall's elections.
The party called for all councillors to stand down, saying they do not have a mandate to continue.
Norfolk County Council Conservative leader Kay Mason Billig has rejected such calls.
She previously said: "We will be setting up a whole new administration and the government made clear we would not have the capacity to do that if we were also having county council elections. We didn't really have a lot of choice."
Mr Kirk, who is also a borough councillor on West Norfolk Council, and fellow councillor Peter Hodson last month quit the Conservative group at the authority to become independents, saying they intended to join Reform UK.
A date for the Norfolk County Council by-election has yet to be fixed.
Reform UK's Scott Hussey recently won the Breckland District Council Bedingfield by-election - the first Norfolk Reforum UK councillor to win their seat at the ballot box.
Robin Hunter-Clarke, who represents Hermitage ward, also on Breckland Council, defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK in January.
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