LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - British lawmaker Lucy Allan,

who had said she would not stand in the national election, was

suspended from the governing Conservative Party on Monday after

endorsing the candidate for the right-wing Reform UK party.

This marks another setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,

who has been on the campaign trail since calling a general

election last week. Dozens of Conservative lawmakers have

already said they won't be standing in the July 4 election.

Allan, 59, who was the Conservative member of parliament

(MP) for the English town of Telford and has been an MP for nine

years, said on social media that she was supporting Reform's

Alan Adams to be the constituency's next MP.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said she had been

suspended from the party with "immediate effect," adding that "a

vote for Reform is a vote for (opposition Labour leader) Keir

Starmer."

A poll conducted by More in Common published a day after

Sunak called the election on Wednesday showed 44% support for

Labour and 27% for the Conservatives, with the right-wing Reform

UK party at 10%.

Earlier this year, former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman

Lee Anderson, who was suspended from the party over accusations

of Islamophobia, defected to Reform, which has Brexit campaigner

Nigel Farage as its honorary president.