The Conservative candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester has defected to Reform UK, accusing his former party of "giving up" on the north of England.
Dan Barker had been selected by the Conservatives in December to challenge current mayor, Labour's Andy Burnham.
Mr Barker follows Lee Anderson, the former Conservative party deputy chair, who defected to Reform UK on 11 March.
Mr Barker said the Tories had abandoned northern areas to focus on "blue wall" seats to avoid "annihilation".
The Conservatives have until 16:00 BST on 5 April to select a new candidate for mayor.
The Conservative party says it will shortly begin a selection process for a new candidate.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Barker said the national Conservative party had failed to provide any support.
He said: "I think, in truth, they've given up on Greater Manchester and the north of England.
"You can see that from inside the party, what they are really doing is trying to protect the blue wall in the South East and the South West because they fear that the Liberal Democrats are going to annihilate them."
In a social media post, Mr Berker called Reform UK "the new home of conservatism," saying the party "represent the ordinary people of this country".
Reform UK, founded by Nigel Farage, has been regularly polling above 10% of national voting intention over the last month.
A Conservative Party source said: "The Conservatives received under 20% of the vote in Manchester in 2021. We have to be realistic about our prospects in this election."