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Douglas Carswell: "David Cameron is not serious about change"
Tory Douglas Carswell has defected to UKIP and quit as MP for Clacton, saying he will contest the subsequent by-election for Nigel Farage's party.
If he wins the support of voters he will be the first elected UK Independence Party MP in the Commons.
The maverick Eurosceptic backbencher said he wanted to "shake up" the cosy Westminster "clique".
Mr Carswell added he did not believe Prime Minister David Cameron was "serious about the change we need".
The surprise announcement was made at a press conference in central London.
Not easy'Mr Carswell said the decision to jump ship from the Conservatives had given him "sleepless nights" but he wanted to see "fundamental change in British politics" and UKIP - a party he believed belonged to its members rather than a "little clique" of political insiders - could deliver it.
"This hasn't been an easy decision. I have been a member of the Conservative Party for all my adult life. It's full of wonderful people who want the best for Britain.
"My local Conservative Association in Clacton is thriving. It brims with those I'm honoured to call my friends.
"The problem is that many of those at the top of the Conservative Party are simply not on our side. They aren't serious about the change that Britain so desperately needs.
"Of course they talk the talk before elections. They say what they feel they must say to get our support when they want our support, but on so many issues - on modernising our politics, on the recall of MPs, on controlling our borders on less government, on bank reform, on cutting public debt, on an EU referendum - they never actually make it happen."
'Reality'A Conservative Party spokesman said Mr Carswell's decision was "regrettable and frankly counter-productive".
"As he's said, the only way to get a referendum on the EU is to return a majority Conservative government.
Analysis by Brian Wheeler and Iain Watson
Douglas Carswell's announcement took Westminster by complete surprise. UKIP had told everyone they were about to unveil a major new celebrity donor.
No-one expected a Conservative defector to be unveiled instead. The identity of the defector is, perhaps, less of a surprise - Mr Carswell has a long history of rebelling against his party and is known to be deeply disillusioned with what he sees as David Cameron's failure to clean up Westminster politics and deliver democratic reforms.
But it is Mr Carswell's decision to call a by-election in Clacton - rather than continuing to sit in the Commons under a different party banner - that will cause the biggest headache for Mr Cameron.
The prospect of defeat is real. And if it happens, expect more Conservative MPs to call for a pact - at least informally, seat by seat - with UKIP at next year's general election.
It will encourage Eurosceptic MPs to harden their rhetoric on a referendum and renegotiation. And for swing voters worried about the cost of living, they will hear the Conservatives - to use the prime minister's words - "banging on about Europe".
Technically the seat could be left vacant until the general election. But Mr Cameron cannot look like he is "running scared" on Europe.
In South Thanet the Conservatives selected a senior UKIP defector. They will have to trawl their membership lists to find another Eurosceptic to take on Mr Carswell.
"The Conservative Party will contest the forthcoming by-election vigorously to make sure the people in Clacton have a strong Conservative voice in this parliament and the next."
Conservative MP Mark Pritchard - a fellow Eurosceptic - said Mr Carswell's defection to UKIP "doesn't recognise the political reality on the ground".
He told the BBC News Channel Mr Carswell had been "flirting with UKIP for some time" and his defection would inflict "short-term" damage to the Conservative Party, as he may win the by-election.
'Honourable'But he said voters would realise a "vote for UKIP is a vote for Labour".
UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who this week was selected to fight South Thanet at the 2015 general election, shared the platform with Mr Carswell at his press conference.
He said the MP's decision was the "bravest and most honourable" he had seen in British politics.
The UKIP leader, who has been attempting for some time to convince MPs to join his party, told BBC News "there are others in Westminster having similar thoughts" to Mr Carswell.
The Clacton MP has been an outspoken critic of Westminster politics since being elected in 2005, calling for more democratic accountability such as open primaries to select candidates and recall elections for MPs who break the rules.
Explaining his decision to force a by-election - which he did not have to do in order to sit as a UKIP MP - he said: "The only honourable thing to do is to say to the people of Clacton, who I represent in Westminster, it's their choice."
Mr Carswell, who was an early supporter of Mr Cameron when he was bidding for the party leadership, said he had not spoken to the prime minister before announcing his decision.
The earliest a by-election could be held in Clacton is Thursday, 9 October if a writ is moved in Parliament on Monday, although it is likely to be at a later date.
Convention dictates that the party which holds the seat decides the date of the by-election, meaning Conservative Party managers will have the final say and could delay it for several months.
The Labour Party said Mr Carswell's defection was a "a hammer blow" for Mr Cameron, which showed confidence in the prime minster was "collapsing inside a Conservative party which is divided and running scared of UKIP".
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