An Independent councillor has announced he is to become a member of the UK Independence Party.

Councillor Stanley Sheinwald, member for Hatch End ward, officially announced he had joined the eurosceptic party today.

He said: “For me UKIP is the party for the people and on a local level and I will fight for what people are concerned about.

“I think recently local politics has lost its way and has been caught up in party politics and this means the residents are the ones who lose out.

“People want their rubbish collected, streets cleaned and the grass cut but some of these are being forgotten about.

“The council increased the council tax so people want to know what they are paying for. UKIP want to bring back common sense to politics and that’s why I have joined them.

“I also back the party’s policy of putting more of the money collected from business rates back into the high street and using it to supporting local businesses.”

Mr Sheinwald has also says he will use the party’s support to fight against the redevelopment of Pickwick Walk, and he will be launching a campaign to save the shops.

The Hatch End councillor was previously a Conservative member but left the party in 2011 following a dispute with group leader Susan Hall after he lost his role as chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee.

Councillor Sheinwald will sit as UKIP councillor until the local elections next year, but says he has not yet decided whether he will run for the party.