Former Ukip councillor depicted as a rat in drawing following defection

The drawing, entitled ‘Chris Wood jumps ship’, was posted on Ukip’s Fareham and Gosport page last night by party member Paul Sturgess and depicts Fareham borough councillor Chris Wood as a rat while his former party is depicted as a sinking ship in the background.

Cllr Wood, who led the Ukip group on both Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire County Council, defected to the Conservatives last week, claiming his former party was ‘toxic.’

In the drawing, his face is superimposed on the body of a rat standing on a raft which is called a ‘Tory Liferaft’ with the vessel ‘courtesy’ of Councillor Sean Woodward, the borough council’s Conservative leader.

A label on the rat says ‘man of conviction (for a reasonable price).’

Tom Davies, chairman of Fareham East Conservatives said: ‘This is absolutely tasteless and totally unprofessional.

‘They’ve rather shot themselves in the foot with this drawing.

‘I don’t think that anyone who left regrets their decision.’

Mr Davies, who previously defected from the party last year, added: ‘Maybe there was a place for Ukip going forward but they’ve completely blown it with a series of blunders.

‘Even from the picture, you can see how much division there was and apparently still is within the party.’

In response to the picture, Councillor Wood said: ‘I think someone has too much time on their hands.’

The News have contacted Mr Sturgess for comment.