A LONG-SERVING Conservative councillor has resigned from the party after he was not selected to stand in May’s elections.

Cllr David Smith, who has represented central Bournemouth for 23 of his 25 years on the borough council, will now stand as an independent in May.

He said he was surprised not to have been selected as a candidate for the first elections for the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council but said he believes he still has “much to offer”.

Last month, Cllr Smith turned down an honorary aldermen title in order to stand.

And on Thursday he resigned from the Conservative Party so that he could take part in the elections as an independent.

In an email to the council’s Conservative group, he said he had always been a “hardworking, loyal and dedicated” party member but he needed to resign in order to be a candidate.

“As you can imagine I was quite surprised to have been deselected by the ward committee but nevertheless that is politics,” he said.

“After having given the matter a good deal of consideration and having spoken to many people over the past few weeks, I have made the decision to put myself forward to the electorate in central ward as an independent candidate in the May election.

“I believe I still have much to offer the residents of central ward, especially with all the challenges that lie ahead, both for the town and the new BCP council.”

He admitted that being a candidate without the support of the party would be “an uphill task” and that he was “not expecting miracles”.

Cabinet member for transport Cllr Mike Greene and Hazel Allen, who lost a by-election in the Throop and Muscliff ward last year, have been selected by the Conservative group to stand in the ward against Cllr Smith.