An ex-Reform UK councillor who defected to the Conservatives says she was subjected to sexism and bullying in her former party.

Staffordshire county councillor Charlotte Kelly claims she was singled out for criticism after refusing to campaign for Reform candidate Robert Kenyon in the Makerfield by-election due to his remarks about women.

Cllr Kelly, who represents Leek Rural, also says a local party official 'yelled and swore' on multiple occasions, and her name was added to a lobbying letter against her wishes. She believes she was treated this way because she is a young woman, with most of her fellow party members being older men.

Cllr Kelly submitted formal complaints to the party about two colleagues, but was still waiting for action to be taken more than two months later. She says this 'toxicity' drove her to leave Reform and re-join the Conservative Party, which she believes is her 'natural home'.

Reform, meanwhile, claim that Cllr Kelly was a 'source of disharmony' within the group and was herself subject to a formal complaint. Her defection brings the council's opposition Conservative group up to 12 members, while the number of councillors in the ruling Reform group dropping to 43.

Cllr Kelly says some of bullying she experienced involved phone calls from a local party official.

She said: "The first was him telling me how to vote in the leadership election. I said I'm already voting for someone so he yelled and swore at me and hung up the phone.

"A week later they wanted to add my name to this letter. He again shouted and swore at me and hung up the phone. I found him very threatening. I didn't see him treating any of the other members this way, but I'm the only young woman. Two other woman got ran out of the branch.

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The letter related to a planned CO2 pipeline across the Peak District – Cllr Kelly says that as she sits on the board of the Peak District National Park Authority she had to remain neutral on the subject.

Cllr Kelly added: "I think if they took this seriously, they wouldn't be waiting over two months to do something about it. Instead, they've left me in a very uncomfortable and horrible situation where I have lost weight, I'm getting migraines.

"I didn't think it was appropriate to stay in a party where they think that behaviour is acceptable. If they do that to me, what will they do to other people?"

More recently, Cllr Kelly says she was criticised for raising concerns about Robert Kenyon after local party members were asked to campaign in the Makerfield by-election. Mr Kenyon has been accused of sexism due to the several remarks he has made about women.

Cllr Kelly said: "I raised concerns about Robert Kenyon in a group chat and they basically shut me down. They said, 'Don't let Charlotte put you off.'

"There were other people expressing concerns but they only went for me – I was the only woman expressing concerns, so I'm guessing that's why. My concerns were the sexist remarks that he made. The fact that he literally said, 'I'm a sexist.'

"I don't feel comfortable campaigning or doing anything for someone who holds those views."

Cllr Kelly was elected as the county councillor for Leek Rural in last year's local elections, which saw Reform secure an historic landslide victory in Staffordshire.

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She describes her move from the council's ruling party as a 'sacrifice' – she is likely to lose the two committee vice-chair positions she currently holds.

But she believes her politics are now closer to the Conservatives, who she says are doing 'amazing' under leader Kemi Badenoch.

Cllr Kelly added: "I've always been in the same place politically. The Conservatives moved away from it. And I thought I was in the same place as Reform. A lot of their policies do still align with that. However, with this toxicity within the party, with their lack of action when it comes to bullying."

She says that she still agrees with Reform on some issues, and that there are 'some good people with good intentions' in the party.

A spokesperson for Reform said: "It comes as no surprise that Cllr Kelly has left Reform UK. She has been a source of ongoing disharmony within the group and is currently subject to a formal complaint.

"It is regrettable that she has chosen to defect to a party with a dire track record of mismanagement in Staffordshire – one that has driven the council into hundreds of millions of pounds of debt through reckless and uncontrolled spending."

Cllr Kelly says she has no knowledge of the complaint against her.