A former Labour local authority mayor and an ex-councillor have joined Reform UK, accusing the ruling party of failing London.

Sir Robin Wales, who was directly elected mayor of Newham from 2002 to 2018, and Clive Furness, who served on the council, announced they were switching to Nigel Farage’s party on Wednesday.

The Reform UK leader had teased the prospect of a Labour recruit weeks ago, saying there were talks ongoing with a number of people who had held “senior positions” in the party and “they will come”.

Mr Furness has been selected as Reform’s candidate for mayor of Newham while Sir Robin will act as the party’s London director of local government.

London Labour suggested Reform was “scraping the barrel” as neither man had been involved in the Labour movement “for some time”. Sir Robin was deselected by the party in Newham in 2018.

Announcing his move at a press conference with Mr Farage on Wednesday, Sir Robin said Reform had “a lot of rough edges” but represented a chance to “transform our society”.

He accused Labour of having abandoned its roots and said that under London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan the capital had seen “soaring crime, failing services, and a party that prioritises the wealthy elite over the working class it was built to represent”.

He defended Reform, which Labour has accused of peddling divisive politics, telling the event: “If I thought Reform was racist, if Clive thought Reform is racist, we wouldn’t be in this room or even near this headquarters.

It’s not and I challenge anybody to show how it is.”

Mr Furness said there had been a “Balkanisation of Britain”, with people voting on religious and racial lines, which he cited among the concerns which had led him to join Reform.

He said: “Labour has clearly and demonstrably failed London.

“It’s sad to see that even Newham, a borough that Sir Robin and I managed to lift out of deprivation, has gone completely backwards under a Labour mayor and a Labour council that is now completely out of touch with the communities it was meant to represent.”

Asked whether Sir Robin and Mr Furness were the Labour figures who Mr Farage had spoken of when he hinted at a defection earlier this year, the Reform leader suggested there would be more.

“They’re some of them – we are talking to a number of Labour figures,” he said.

“What is particularly pertinent about these two guys is their record in government in London as we approach a London election.

“There are other Labour figures we’re talking to, and you will see them over the course of the next weeks and months.”

Sir Robin Wales moved to Newham in 1978 and was first elected as a councillor in 1982. He became Leader of the council in 1995 and, in 2002, was elected as Newham’s first directly elected mayor, the first Labour mayor in England under that system, a role he held until 2018.

Under Sir Robin’s leadership, Newham was at the heart of the regeneration associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics.

He was was heavily involved in London’s Olympic delivery and legacy, including roles on the London Organising Committee and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, championing efforts to ensure residents benefited from jobs and development linked to the Games.

Sir Robin Wales in 2005 as Mayor of the London Borough of Newham celebrates the announcement of London won the bid to host the Olympics Credit: PA

During his time on the council, he was a mayoral adviser working on issues related to social care and community wellbeing, and was part of the mayoral executive under successive administrations.

A London Labour spokesperson said: “If Clive Furness and Robin Wales count as a ‘major London announcement’, Reform really are scraping the barrel.

“Neither man has been part of the Labour movement for some time. In Newham, Robin Wales was removed by local members following concerns about his record in office after Labour members selected a new candidate.

“Nigel Farage, Laila Cunningham and their allies spend their time talking London down and attacking the success of one of the most proudly multicultural cities in the world.

“Meanwhile, Labour is focused on delivering for London – supporting 240,000 children by ending the two-child cap, cutting energy bills for 3.7 million households, expanding free school meals and breakfast clubs, and strengthening protections for 2.7 million renters.

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