This is a list of members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, British members of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, members of the British devolved legislatures (such as the Scottish Parliament, Senedd, and Northern Ireland Assembly) and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) who have changed their party affiliation (i.e. abandoning a previous party membership to take up a new one) or who have resigned from, been suspended from or been expelled from their previous party affiliation, making them independents. When a member of a legislature switches from one party to another, this is called

crossing the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

. The list details the dates, members involved, previous and new party affiliations, and an explanation for their switch.

Members of Parliament who have changed party affiliation

Members of Parliament who were suspended from their parliamentary party

These MPs were suspended by their Parliamentary Parties but continued to receive the Whip.

Members of the House of Lords who have changed party affiliation

The House of Lords is not an elective body.

Members of the European Parliament who have changed party affiliation

London Assembly Members who have changed party affiliation

Members of the Welsh Parliament who have changed party affiliation

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#ccc;" !Date !Member !colspan=2, Before !colspan=2, After !Notes , - , colspan=7,

1999–2003 Assembly

, - , 2000 ,

Rod Richards Roderick Richards (12 March 1947 – 13 July 2019) was a British politician. He was a Conservative before joining UKIP in 2013. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Clwyd North West, in Wales, from 1992 to 1997, when he lost his ...

, , , Whip withdrawn after abstaining on a budget vote , - , colspan=7,

2003–2007 Assembly

, - , 2005 ,

Peter Law Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent membe ...

, , , Left party in protest at the use of all-woman shortlists , - , colspan=7,

2007–2011 Assembly

, - , 2009 ,

Mohammad Asghar Mohammad Asghar (30 September 1945 – 16 June 2020), known as Oscar, was a Welsh politician who was a Member of the Senedd for South Wales East. He was a member of the Welsh Conservatives, and previously of Welsh Labour, and Plaid Cymru. ...

, , , Explained that he was a " Unionist" and against

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...

, - , 2010 , Mick Bates , , , Suspended after it was discovered that he would be prosecuted for assault , - , colspan=7,

2016–2021 Assembly/Parliament

, - , rowspan="2" , 2016 ,

Nathan Gill Nathan Lee Gill (born 6 July 1973) is a British politician, who was the Leader of Reform UK Wales from March to May 2021, when he resigned from the party. He previously served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 2014 to J ...

, , , Left UKIP group to sit as an independent , - ,

Dafydd Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas (born 18 October 1946) is a Welsh politician who served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021. Born in Carmar ...

, , , Left Plaid Cymru party to support the Labour minority government. , - , rowspan="3" , 2017 , Neil McEvoy , , , Suspended from party group , - , Mark Reckless , , , Left UKIP group to sit as an independent within the Conservative Group , - , Carl Sargeant , , , Sargeant was suspended from Welsh Labour following allegations about his personal conduct. , - , rowspan="3" , 2018 ,

Mandy Jones Amanda Ellen "Mandy" Jones is a British former racing cyclist born in 1962 who won the women's world road race championship in 1982. Biography Jones joined the West Pennine Road Club to ride on Sunday outings. She rode her first race in 1974 ...

, , , Left UKIP group to sit as an independent after criticising Neil Hamilton , - ,

Caroline Jones Caroline Jones (born June 30, 1990) is an American country music singer, songwriter and radio host. Jones has released a number of albums, the most successful one being ''Bare Feet''. Her most recent album, ''Antipodes'', was released on Novemb ...

, , , Left UKIP group to sit as an independent, stating the party had moved "to a more far-right position" , - , Jenny Rathbone , , , Suspended over remarks about Jewish people. , - , rowspan="8" , 2019 , Jenny Rathbone , , , Re-admitted , - ,

Michelle Brown Michelle Margaret Freda Brown (born 30 December 1969) is a British politician who was a Member of the Senedd (MS) for North Wales from 2016 to 2021. In March 2019 she resigned from the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to become an independent. Edu ...

, , , Left UKIP group to sit as an independent , - , Mark Reckless , , , Left Conservative Group on 'good terms' to sit as an independent , - ,

, , , Joined the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant ...

, - ,

, , , Joined the

, - , Mark Reckless , , , Joined the

, - , David Rowlands , , , Joined the

, - , Gareth Bennett , , , Quit the Party , - , rowspan="9" , 2020 ,

Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay (born 10 June 1975) is a British politician who served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Monmouth from 2007 to 2021. Originally a member of the Welsh Conservatives, he served as Shadow Minister of Finance under Conservative Leader ...

, , , Arrested on 1 January 2020 and suspended from the Conservative group the following day. , - , Neil McEvoy , , , Formed the Welsh National Party , - , Gareth Bennett , , , Joined the

Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party ( cy, Plaid Diddymu Cynulliad Cymru), or in Wales, simply Abolish, is a registered single issue political party in Wales. It campaigns for the abolition of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ), formerly known as th ...

, - ,

, , , Re-admitted , - ,

, , , Left the

due to their anti-devolution stance , - ,

, , , rowspan="3" , Formed a new group: Independent Alliance for Reform , - ,

, , , - , David Rowlands , , , - , Mark Reckless , , , Joined the

, - , rowspan="3" , 2021 , rowspan="2" , Alun Davies , , , Suspended after allegedly being involved in alcohol drinking on the Senedd estate, that could have broken COVID restrictions. , - , , , Re-admitted , - ,

, , , Left the Conservative Group after being unhappy with the party's direction, and wanting to stand as an Independent in the Senedd election, after being deselected by the local group. , - , colspan=7,

2021–2026 Parliament

, - , 2022 , Rhys ab Owen , , , Suspended on 8 November 2022 pending an investigation by the Senedd's standards watchdog over an alleged breach of the code of conduct. , - , colspan=7,

Members of the Scottish Parliament who have changed party affiliation

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#ccc;" !Date !Member !colspan=2, Before !colspan=2, After !Notes , - , colspan=7,

1999–2003 Parliament

, - , 2002 ,

Dorothy-Grace Elder Dorothy-Grace Elder is a Scottish journalist and former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region), Glasgow region 1999–2003. She sat as an Independent MSP 2002–2003, having first sat as a ...

, , , Resigned over disagreement over how the party was run , - , 2003 ,

Margo MacDonald Margo Symington MacDonald (''née'' Aitken; 19 April 1943 – 4 April 2014) was a Scottish people, Scottish politician, teacher and Television presenter, broadcaster. She was the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (United Kingdo ...

, , , Ranked low on the party list for re-election so stood as an independent and was expelled from party; re-elected as an independent , - , colspan=7,

2003–2007 Parliament

, - , 2004 , Campbell Martin , , , Expelled from party and stood as an independent , - , rowspan="2" , 2005 ,

Mike Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie Michael Goodall Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie (born 1 May 1949), is a British Labour Party politician and arsonist. He has served in two legislatures in the United Kingdom and served as Minister for Culture and Sport in the Scottish Exe ...

, , , Expelled from the Party after causing a fire and resigned , - ,

Brian Monteith Brian Monteith (born 8 January 1958) is a British politician, public relations consultant and commentator. As a member of the Scottish Conservatives, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 199 ...

, , , Had whip withdrawn over misconduct , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , Rosemary Byrne , , , Created new Party Solidarity , - ,

Tommy Sheridan Tommy Sheridan (born 7 March 1966) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2 ...

, , , Created new Party Solidarity , - , colspan=7,

2007–2011 Parliament

, - , March 2011 , Hugh O'Donnell , , , Quit party over its direction , - , colspan=7,

2011–2016 Parliament

, - , April 2012 ,

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

, , , Expelled from the SNP for allegedly not declaring the allegations cited in his uncontested divorce proceedings during the MSP vetting process. , - , rowspan="2" , October 2012 ,

John Finnie John Bradford Finnie (born 31 December 1956) is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National P ...

, , , Resigned over the party's decision to support

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

membership for an independent Scotland , - , Jean Urquhart , , , Resigned over the party's decision to support

membership for an independent Scotland , - , September 2014 , John Wilson , , , Resigned over the party's decision to support

membership for an independent Scotland , - , October 2014 ,

, , , Joined the Scottish Green Party, but continued to sit as an Independent MSP , - , December 2014 , John Wilson , , , Joined the Scottish Green Party, but continued to sit as an independent MSP , - , September 2015 , Jean Urquhart , , , Joined the RISE, but continued to sit as an independent MSP , - , colspan=7,

2016–2021 Parliament

, - , 12 May 2016 , Ken Macintosh , , , Elected Presiding Officer and consequently had to renounce his party affiliation. , - , 15 November 2017 , Alex Rowley , , , Suspended by Labour due to allegations about his conduct. , - , 16 November 2017 , Mark McDonald , , , Suspended by SNP due to allegations about his conduct. Left the SNP on 6 March 2018. , - , 19 December 2017 , Alex Rowley , , , Reinstated by Labour , - , February 2020 , Derek Mackay , , , Suspended by SNP for sending inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old boy , - , 24 November 2020 ,

Michelle Ballantyne Michelle Lorraine Ballantyne (' Cross; born 28 November 1962) is a British politician and former nurse who served as Leader of Reform UK Scotland from January 2021 to February 2022. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Sou ...

, , , Left the Conservative Party due to disagreements over policy relating to the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. , - , 18 December 2020 , Andy Wightman , , , Resigned over policy differences , - , 12 January 2021 ,

, , , Became Scots chief of what is now Reform UK after the name change from Brexit Party , - , colspan=7,

2021–2026 Parliament

, - , 13 May 2021 ,

Alison Johnstone Alison Johnstone (born 11 October 1965) is a Scottish politician who has served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament since 2021. Elected as a member of the Scottish Greens, she relinquished her party affiliation on becoming Presi ...

, , , Elected Presiding Officer. , -

Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly who have changed party affiliation

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#ccc;" !Date !Member !colspan=2, Before !colspan=2, After !Notes , - , colspan=8,

1998–2003 Assembly

, - , rowspan="5" , 1999 ,

Cedric Wilson Cedric Wilson (born 6 June 1948) is a Northern Irish Unionist politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 1998 to 2003. Elected as a UK Unionist Party (UKUP) candidate to the Assembly, Wilson ...

, , , Disagreed with UKUP leader Robert McCartney, as they wanted to remain in the Assembly to challenge unionists in favour of the

Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

, - , Patrick Roche , , , Disagreed with UKUP leader Robert McCartney, as they wanted to remain in the Assembly to challenge unionists in favour of the

, - ,

Norman Boyd Norman Boyd (born 16 October 1961) is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2003. Boyd was born in Belfast and attended Belfast High School and ...

, , , Disagreed with UKUP leader Robert McCartney, as they wanted to remain in the Assembly to challenge unionists in favour of the

, - , rowspan="3" , Roger Hutchinson , , , Disagreed with UKUP leader Robert McCartney, as they wanted to remain in the Assembly to challenge unionists in favour of the

, - , , , Expelled for accepting seats on two statutory committees, against party policy. , - , November 2000 , , , Joined DUP , - , colspan=7,

2003–2007 Assembly

, - , rowspan="3" , 18 December 2003 ,

Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997, and lead ...

, , , rowspan="3" , Disagreements over the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

negotiations and the position taken by party leader

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He wa ...

, - ,

Norah Beare Norah Beare (born 25 May 1946, Banbridge, County Down) is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2003 to 2007. She was elected as an Ulster Unionist Par ...

, , , - , Arlene Foster , , , - , 23 November 2005 , Francie Molloy , , , Suspended from the party due to publicly disagreeing with the policy on local government reform. , - , 15 January 2007 , Geraldine Dougan , , , Resigned from party , - , 2 February 2007 ,

Davy Hyland Davy Hyland (born 25 February 1955, Belfast) is an Irish former politician who was a Sinn Fein Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Newry and Armagh from 2003 to 2007. He was educated at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and Man ...

, , , Resigned from party , - , 15 February 2007 , Paul Berry , , , Stood as an independent but was not elected , - , 18 February 2007 ,

George Ennis Alderman George Ennis (born 9 February 1953) is a former Northern Irish Unionist politician who was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2003 to 2007. Ennis was first elected to ...

, , , , - , colspan=7,

2007–2011 Assembly

, - , 29 November 2007 ,

Gerry McHugh Gerry McHugh (born 9 October 1957) is a republican politician in Northern Ireland. He represented Sinn Féin on Fermanagh District Council from 1993 to 2007 sat as an independent since then. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, ...

, , , Believed that "Fianna Fáil was the right party to bring about change in Northern Ireland". , - , 30 March 2010 , Major Alan MacFarland , , , Disagreed with the UUP's electoral pact with the Conservative Party , - , 3 June 2010 ,

Dawn Purvis Dawn Purvis (born 22 October 1967) is a former Unionist politician in Northern Ireland, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 2007 to 2011. She was previously the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party ...

, , , Disagreed with direction of party , - , 3 January 2011 , David McClarty , , , Resigned after being de-selected , - , colspan=7,

2011–2016 Assembly

, - , 27 January 2012 , rowspan="2" ,

David McNarry David McNarry (born 25 May 1948) is a UK Independence Party (UKIP) politician in Northern Ireland, who was the leader of UKIP Northern Ireland from 2012 to 2016. He stood for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in North Down in the 1982 Assembly el ...

, , , Suspended from the UUP. , - , 4 October 2012 , , , Joined UKIP. , - , rowspan="2" , 14 February 2013 , Basil McCrea , , , Formed new party , - , rowspan="2" , John McCallister , , , Formed new party , - , 10 July 2014 , , , Response to allegations of impropriety against leader Basil McCrea , - , colspan=7,

2016–2017 Assembly

, - , 18 December 2016 , Jonathan Bell , , , Suspended from the DUP following fallout with party leader , - , ,

2017–2022 Assembly

, - , 18 May 2018 , Jim Wells , , , Suspending after attacking the leadership , - , 3 March 2020 , Trevor Lunn , , , Quit Alliance due to an 'irreconcilable internal problem' , - , 1 July 2021 ,

Alex Easton Alex Easton MLA (born 19 May 1969) is an Independent Unionist politician from Northern Ireland who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down since 2003. A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Eas ...

, , , Resigned from the party

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) who have changed party affiliation

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#ccc;" !Date !Member !colspan=2, Before !colspan=2, After !Notes , - , colspan="7" ,

2012–2016 Commissioners

, - , 2014 , Olly Martins , , , Suspended from the Labour Party and investigated by the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

after he disclosed confidential information about the death of a man in police custody. , - , colspan=7,

2016–2021 Commissioners

, - , April 2019 ,

Jane Kennedy Jane Kennedy may refer to: * Jane Kennedy (courtier) (died 1589), Scottish courtier *Jane Kennedy (actress) (born 1964), Australian actress and comedian *Jane Kennedy (politician) (born 1958), British Labour Party Member of Parliament See also *Ja ...

, , , Resigned from the Labour Party alleging anti-semitism.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) Crossed Crossed British Members of Parliament who crossed the floor