Former Richmond Park MP Jenny Tonge has said she is considering defecting to Labour, in the same week a Lib Dem councillor made the same move.

YESTERDAY: Teddington councillor Jennifer Churchill defects from Lib Dems to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour

Baroness Tonge admitted she admired Teddington Councillor Jennifer Churchill, dubbed 'Red Jen', for defecting to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

But the life peer, who served as MP for Richmond Park between 1997 and 2005, said she would take her time over her next move.

In an exclusive interview with the Richmond and Twickenham Times, she said: "I don't do things that quickly.

"But I have to say I have known Jeremy Corbyn for many decades and have campaigned on many issues with him.

"There are a lot of things where I am in complete agreement with him - foreign policy, human rights issues and international law, for example.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Old friends: Baroness Tonge has known Jeremy Corbyn for decades

"I am very interested in his new economics that him and [shadow chancellor] John McDonnell are putting forward, it is fascinating.

"People are dismissing it saying it will ruin the economy and I'm no economist but I think it is worth trying.

"That said, I do have certain reservations about Labour but I am in the undecided camp at the moment."

Baroness Tonge is going away until November and said she expects to make her decision when she returns.

She said: "I am being bombarded by people from both sides and I need time to decide what to do.

"But I'm an old lady and it is very difficult to break ties with the party you have been with all your life.

"I will wait and watch the Labour conference very carefully."

She said she also has concerns over the amount of influence financial backers have upon all political parties.

She said: "We are all subservient to vest interests - the Lib Dems are entirely dependent on donations from individuals, as are the Conservatives.

"There is a tendency to say 'you give us a million and we will push that particular aspect'.

"The Labour Party are, of course, backed by the trade unions and I don't object to that as they are the working public after all.

"But I am still a don't know, for now."

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Red Jen: Coun Churchill announed she was defecting from the Lib Dems yesterday

Speaking about Coun Churchill's defection to Labour, in light of the rise of Jeremy Corbyn as the party's leader, Baroness Tonge said she has her support.

She said: "I'm totally supportive and admire her tremendously.

"I would like to see the Labour Party come back in Richmond, I think it is good to have a council with lots of different flavours to it.

"The trouble is our political voting system - I think at one point, when I was on the council, we had 49 out of 52 seats with less than 50 per cent of the popular vote.

"I used to say that was unfair and it was, our political system is very sick and very old-fashioned and it needs to change."