WORCESTER MP Robin Walker has been handed a pre-election boost - with a well-known former Liberal Democrat chairman flipping sides to give the Tory his backing.

Barry MacGabhan, who used to run the city's Lib Dem branch and worked on its 2010 General Election campaign, has signed up for the Conservatives.

The defection is a coup for the Tories, with Mr MacGabhan signing up at the Conservative's recent Worcester Annual General Meeting and revealing he will put his name to the MP's nomination papers.

The 54-year-old, a former publican of Henwick Road, St John's, will also be backing Mr Walker's cause on the doorsteps over the crucial next five weeks.

Members of the city's Lib Dem branch hit back yesterday by insisting he torn his old party membership up "some years ago".

Mr MacGabhan said the MP's stance on Europe, where he has suggested he would campaign to pull Britain out at a referendum if reform talks failed, was a big factor in his switch.

"I'm passionate about local businesses being successful, I believe Robin shows great commitment to the Worcester business community," he said.

"He is constantly working towards making this city a better place both to work and live in, and we have seen major growth in apprenticeships.

"Robin has also shown that he will do all in his powers to gain further investment into the area through his work with China.

"He is a true internationalist and I believe he will work tirelessly to regain some vital powers back to the UK from Europe whilst understanding the importance of Europe to local business exports."

Mr Walker said: "I am proud to be a moderate one-nation Conservative but I'm prouder still to have been the MP for Worcester.

"Thousands of people in Worcester voted Liberal Democrat at the last election because they were promising to raise the threshold on income tax and I am proud that this Conservative led Coalition has more than delivered on that pledge.

"I will always work with politicians of other parties to get things done for Worcester and I will always put my constituency first."

But former Worcester Lib Dem councillor Ken Carpenter, who is still active in the branch, said: "He failed to renew his membership and has not been with us for some years.

"There's nothing extraordinary in this, people can do it for sincere reasons, although there are some changes I don't understand."

Mr MacGabhan is known for having transformed the 12 foot by 8 foot shed at the bottom of his garden into a fully stocked traditional pub.