Conservative Party members in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich seat held by Dr Dan Poulter since 2010 are to select a new candidate after his defection to Labour.

Dr Poulter, who also works as a part-time psychiatrist at Ipswich Hospital, announced on Saturday that he would be standing down at the next election - and was joining the Labour Party.

The chair of the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Conservative Association, Colin Hedgley, said it would now have to start looking for a new candidate for the general election which will be held before the end of the year.

East Anglian Daily Times: Colin Hedgley, chair of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Conservative Association.Colin Hedgley, chair of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Conservative Association. (Image: CSNI Conservatives)

He said: "We are all very disappointed by this decision. However I shall now be calling an executive meeting in the near future to discuss what our next steps should be going forward."

MPs employ their own staff - usually people who share their political views. 

Members of Dr Poulter's office are expected to have a meeting on Monday to discuss their position after he announced his resignation from the Tories and decision to join the Labour Party.

However, the vast majority of his casework is considered non-political - helping constituents with problems like housing, debt, and schools - and that is likely to continue as normal.

It is understood that after his decision was announced on Saturday evening his office e-mail received hundreds of messages of support from both Conservative and non-Conservative voters - and only a handful of abusive comments.

East Anglian Daily Times: Dr Dan Poulter and Tom Hunt at the IBC election count in 2022.Dr Dan Poulter and Tom Hunt at the IBC election count in 2022. (Image: Newsquest)

Ipswich Conservative MP Tom Hunt had been surprised by Dr Poulter's announcement: "On a personal level I'm disappointed and rather surprised.

"We worked quite well together on local issues around the town - and we both shared concerns about the way the Labour Party runs Ipswich Borough Council.

"On national issues we do often take a different view - but we share the same outlook about improving the town."

He also disagreed with Dr Poulter's view that the current government was endangering the NHS.

Mr Hunt said: "Look at Ipswich Hospital. There's been a great deal of investment there with the new A&E department and many other new facilities - and there's a great deal more investment coming through."

Dr Poulter's stay on the Labour benches of the House of Commons is likely to be short - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed a general election will be held in the second half of the year.

And while he has not sat on the Labour benches before, Dr Poulter did tell a television interview in 2021 that he had voted for Tony Blair in 2001 and 2005.

Speaking to Gloria del Piero on GB News that year, he said that he had been put off the Conservatives during that time - but he returned to the party where his mother worked for an MP after meeting David Cameron, who was leader at the time.

He was selected as candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich in 2010, and it has become one of the party's safest seats in the country.

East Anglian Daily Times: Dr Dan Poulter and Jack Abbott at the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich count in 2015.Dr Dan Poulter and Jack Abbott at the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich count in 2015. (Image: Newsquest)

In 2015 his Labour opponent was Jack Abbott who finished 20,000 votes behind him in a distant second place.

Before Saturday's bombshell he had been re-selected to contest the seat at this year's general election.