The Labour mayor of a northern town has defected from his party and announced he is joining Ukip insisting that “the party that stuck up for working families is no more”.

Councillor Colin Race told his colleagues in Bishop Auckland, County Durham that that he was defecting to the Eurosceptic party with immediate effect.

The life-long Labour voter lamented the “cosy consensus of Westminster” and said the “Labour Party that I once knew… is no more”.

A statement said: “We have a cosy consensus of politicians in Westminster who spend more time patting each other on the back than representing the people who pay their wages at the end of the month.”

While hardly a senior figure inside the Labour party, his defection may rattle some who fear working class voters could abandon Ed Miliband’s party in May, citing immigration policy and Britain’s future role in Europe as key concerns.

Mr Race’s departure to Ukip will delight its leader, Nigel Farage, who last year vowed the Eurosceptic party was “now parking our tanks on the Labour Party's lawn”. Unlike David Cameron who has lost two MPs to the Eurosceptic party however, Mr Miliband has not yet had to deal with any major defection.

Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Show all 8 1 /8 Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Chris Kelly Won Dudley South with majority of 3,856 in 2010 but is standing down next May. Has been wooed by Ukip, which is targeting his seat, but insists he will not join Nigel Farage’s party. Has declined to say why he is leaving Parliament Facebook Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Mark Pritchard Former secretary of the influential Tory 1992 Committee. MP for The Wrekin. Majority 9,450. Photographed with Nigel Farage at an event recently but said it was just a “friendly photo" Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Philip Hollobone MP for Kettering. Majority 9, 904. He said in 2013: “So many constituencies are now marginal because Ukip is now providing a fourth dynamic into what has previously been a three-party dynamic. I think we could end up with a situation where in selected seats, where the Conservative candidate or member of Parliament is in favour of leaving the EU, they would endorse him in those seats" Rex Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip David Nuttall MP for Bury North. Majority 2,243. Outspoken right-winger. Has said it would be “beneficial” if the Tories and Ukip could agree a “common programme” in order to unite the right in British politics Twitter Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Nadine Dorries MP for Mid Bedfordshire. Majority 15,152. Lost Tory whip after appearing on ITV’s “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here,” but later reinstated. Has said her constituents some constituents feel a "huge amount of empathy with Ukip". Hinted at standing on a joint ticket but denied she will defect PA Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Jacob Rees-Mogg MP for Somerset North East. Majority 4,914. Independent-minded like Douglas Carswell. Has called for an electoral pact between Tories and Ukip. “There are many members of Ukip who are very close to the Conservative Party and there are many Conservatives to whom Ukip looks favourably,” he said in May David Hedges Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Gordon Henderson MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey. Majority 12,383. Wants Britain to leave the EU and admits he has been “sounded out” by Ukip. But insists the party has “no principles,” saying: “I’d sooner lose than be a turncoat” Who's next? Conservative MPs who could defect to Ukip Peter Bone MP for Wellingborough. Majority 11,787. Independent-minded backbencher who hates the Coalition. Has said: “Somehow the Conservatives and Ukip have got to work together and have some sort of [electoral] pact or accord” UPPA/Photoshot

Mr Race said the North East had the “highest rates of unemployment in the country”. “How are my kids meant to get a job when our political class support open-door mass immigration from 27 other EU member states?”

Mr Miliband conversely appears to have solidified his position on immigration in recent weeks, aiming to steal a march on David Cameron whose 2011 target to reduce net migration before the 2015 election has been comprehensively missed.

“Immigration makes us stronger, richer and more powerful as a nation,” he told the Fabian Society on Saturday. “That’s the truth I believe.”

News of the defection which broke late on Monday night was welcomed by Ukip's MEP for the North East. “Labour Party members across our region are simply realising that on Labour party the incredibly wealthy individuals who sit at the top of the Labour Party don't, and make no attempt to, work for hard-working, law-abiding citizens across the country.”

A Labour North spokesman said: “On the day Nigel Farage confirmed his plans to privatise the NHS, people in Bishop Auckland will rightly be questioning the decision of one of their town councillors.

“Ukip's policies include another tax break for millionaires, higher taxes on working families, scrapping rights at work and higher bankers' bonuses.