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A former Labour councillor in Coventry has switched allegiance to UKIP – saying he wants to support a party which will control the UK’s borders.

Harjinder Singh Sehmi, aged 60, who used to represent Cheylesmore on Coventry City Council is now a member of UKIP.

Mr Sehmi, an immigrant from India who is now a British citizen, said: “I agree with UKIP over border control.

“If you have a three bedroom house you can’t have five or six guests because it’s too crowded – it is the same with the country.

“The Labour Party is only for Labour, the Conservatives are only for

rich people but UKIP is

for the whole of Britain.”

For Mr Sehmi, immigration to the UK from other European countries is more of a concern than immigration from outside Europe, which is more tightly controlled.

Mr Sehmi admits that news of his change of allegiance will upset some of the people he knows and works with as a community volunteer.

Despite that he is determined not to just to be a member of the party but to put himself forward as a possible candidate for a Coventry City Council ward and for a parliamentary seat.

Mr Sehmi, a dad of four and grandfather of one, represented the Cheylesmore ward on Coventry City Council before losing his seat to Conservative candidate Roger Bailey.

Newly-elected West Midlands UKIP MEP Jim Carver said: “Harjinder is one of many. A lot of our activists are coming from old Labour backgrounds.

“People are attracted by our policies, such as raising tax allowances and taking everybody on the minimum wage out of income tax.”

Mr Sehmi studied for an arts degree at the University of Punjab before moving the UK.

He moved to Britain to marry wife Guljinder, who had moved here several years before from the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

He worked at the General Electrical Company and was shop steward for trade union the T and G.

He now lives in Foleshill and is planning to set up a travel business.

Former Conservative Douglas Carswell recently became UKIP’s first MP, winning the Clacton-on-Sea by election. His defection from the Conservative Party had triggered the election.