Party shuffles: councillor quits Tories, Galloway quits Respect (sort of)

There were two pieces of party swapping this week:

1. Stevenage Conservative councillor Marion Mason switched to UKIP.
2. George Galloway quit Respect, announcing plans to run a new left-wing ticket for the May 2008 London Assembly elections. At least, Respect said he’s quit the party, but he said he hasn’t quit the party. Which all things considered is no more farcical than the party holding two separate national conferences last November, one for each faction.