FORMER Castle Point MP Bob Spink says he regrets failing to trigger a by-election after quitting the Tories in 2008.
Dr Spink defected from the Conservatives in 2008 and joined Ukip. However, he continued as an MP until the 2010 General Election rather than resiging from the Commons when he defected.
He spoke at today's Ukip party conference in Doncaster just weeks after Clacton MP Douglas Carswell resigned his seat and defected to Ukip, triggering a by-election.
Dr Spink said: "I regret not having the courage to call a by-election like Douglas Carswell."
Dr Spink, who served as Castle Point MP from 1992 to 1997 and then again from 2001 to 2010, spoke at the conference as Tory MP Mark Reckless stunned Westminster by defecting to Ukip, also prompting a by-election.
The Rochester and Strood MP said he had not taken the decision lightly but claimed the Conservative leadership was "part of the problem that is holding our country back".
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