On 15 January 2005,Jackson defected to the Labour Party,stating that the Tories had "incoherent" policies on public services,"dangerous" views on Europe,and had "wobbled" on the issue of Iraq. In a letter to his constituency chairman,he wrote:"It is in the country's best interest that Tony Blair rather than Michael Howard should form the next government."[1] Jackson,who had been on the liberal and pro-European wing of the Conservatives,was one of the few Tory MPs who supported the reduction in the age of consent for gay men. He had been treasurer of the Conservative Mainstream association,and supported Kenneth Clarke in the 2001 leadership election.
Before defecting,Jackson had indicated he would not stand in the forthcoming general election,following Iain Duncan Smith's election as Conservative leader,and he duly stepped down in April 2005. At the 2005 general election,Jackson was succeeded by Ed Vaizey,a prominent conservative columnist and pundit who had been selected by the local Conservative Association.
Despite his defection,Jackson has continued to vote for the Conservative Party at subsequent elections. In March 2024,he suggested that he would not want to vote for them again,stating,"They're losing comprehensively in the culture wars."[2]
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