South Tees Conservatives are delighted to announce the return of Cllr Vera Rider to the Conservative Party.
Cllr Rider resigned from the party in 2021 and has served as an independent councillor for Longbeck since. She was re-elected as an independent in May this year.
On November 17th 2023, Cllr Rider was welcomed back to the Conservative group after she expressed her wish to rejoin the party.
Cllr Rider's dedicated service and commitment to the residents of the Longbeck ward have always been commendable, and Conservatives representing Redcar & Cleveland welcomed her return.
Cllr Vera Rider said: "I am pleased to rejoin my Conservative colleagues.
"This is a great group of people, each committed to the betterment of our communities and representing the values I share.
"There's a lot to be optimistic about in Redcar & Cleveland and it's great to be part of a group that's doing what it can to change things for the better."
Cllr Paul Salvin, Redcar & Cleveland Conservative Group leader, said: "Vera Rider brings a wealth of experience to the conservative group and we look forward to working with her on behalf of the residents of Longbeck.
"We will continue to fight for everyone that lives within the borough that deserves better than the current council leadership and as the only councillor left in Longbeck after Luke Myer’s disappearance into parliamentary politics, Vera will make sure that Longbeck residents are not left behind and that your voices are heard.
"We are a new team, a new group of councillors that just want to make better our communities and we will continue to fight for everyone of you as we have been continually left behind as a council after years of Labours false promises."
Jacob Young, Conservative MP for Redcar, said: “Like many in Redcar & Cleveland, Vera has recognised the only party with a plan to continue to take Redcar & Cleveland forward is the Conservatives.
"I'm pleased that she is back with us, and her return to the Conservatives stands as a positive endorsement of the progress we have made in Teesside.
"This is a time for coming together and strengthening our vision for Redcar and Cleveland."
Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said: “It’s good to see another councillor joining the local Conservatives.
"We are the only party with a positive plan for Teesside focused on creating thousands of jobs.
"From Guisborough to Loftus to Eston, we are investing in our towns and have done more in the last six years than Labour did in sixty.”
Following the completion of all administrative obligations within Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Cllr Rider will be able to formally join her Conservative colleagues in the Council Chamber from December this year.
