A Liberal Democrat made the “drastic” decision to become a UKIP supporter on the day he was up for election.

Sabriye Warsame, of Satchell Meade, Colindale, crossed the floor after five years as a Liberal Democrat.

He decided to swap parties during the Colindale election count on June 26, where he missed out on the chance to be a Lib Dem councillor with just 87 votes.

UKIP’s John Baskin, who was also unsuccessful in becoming a councillor for the Colindale ward, said: “We were sitting waiting at the count and I was joking with him – I said to him, you don’t want to be a Liberal Democrat.

“He said okay then, where do I sign up? I was flabbergasted.”

Mr Warsame was officially welcomed into the party on Thursday, July 3 and claims he e-mailed Liberal Democrat leader Jack Cohen to explain his actions.

However, Cllr Cohen – the only member of his party to have a seat on Barnet Borough Council – claims he is yet to recieve an explanation from Mr Warsame.

He said: “I’m surprised and disappointed he didn’t say anything to begin with. I don’t what the reasons are, or what the motives could possibly be.”

Speaking about his decision, Mr Warsame, who was born in Somalia but came to England in 2000, said he was “very excited” about joining UKIP.

The 45-year-old father-of-eight added: “It’s not a racist party. I am a proud Muslim looking forward to joining UKIP. I know it’s a drastic decision, but I support them wholeheartedly.

“They’ve come up with good policies which work for everyone – jobs, education, pensions and welfare. They look at the bigger picture of what’s going on.

“I e-mailed Cllr Cohen – who I like very much – about my decision but I haven’t heard anything back.”