Gloria de Piero’s office manager has defected to the Tories but remains employed by the Labour MP tonight, Guido can reveal. Lee Anderson defected to the Tories this morning and posed for pictures with local Tory MP Ben Bradley. Yet sources familiar with the situation confirm Anderson remains employed by de Piero this evening. He has not resigned his job or been sacked. A source close to de Piero and Anderson says: “It’s a bit of a headache. It is a conversation that will have to happen”. Pretty sharpish, you’d think.

A second Labour councillor in Ashfield, Chris Baron, a former Labour council leader, has also defected to the Tories today alongside Anderson. Guido understands the pair were fed up with Momentum bullying and intimidation and the last straw was an Owen Jones event in their patch a few weeks ago. The hard-left is always asking Labour moderates “why don’t you just go and join the Tories?”. Well it seems these two have taken their advice…