This makes for sobering reading. Despite sweeping the local elections back in May, Reform’s promise to shake up regional governments and councils has simply not gone to plan. Dozens of councillors elected just six months ago have now left the party in some capacity.
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Where have the Reform councillors gone?
Of the 677 councillors wearing the light blue rosettes on polling day, 36 of them have either resigned, walked away, defected, been expelled, or been suspended from the party. This number has been described as an ‘unusually high’ one by Professor Tony Travers – an expert on local government.
Speaking to Politics Home, Professor Travers said that the slew of candidates falling by the wayside is ‘rapidly growing’, and includes major loses in Cornwall and Kent – with the latter council previously heralded as a ‘dry-run’ for Reform’s ability to govern. It also follows the trend in Westminster.
“It’s an unusual number and rapidly growing, and so soon after Reform did so well in May this year. It’s slightly reflective, though the numbers are bigger, of what has happened at Westminster, where Reform has had five, four and six MPs variously over the months since July 2024.” | Tony Travers
‘Unusual and rapid’
The party has been bullish in its response, claiming that all groups ‘experiences a churn’ in councillors. It’s also worth noting that both Labour and the Conservatives have lost 18 councillors between them in recent months – but that is only half of those who have been lost by Reform in that time.
Drilling deeper into the reasons behind this ‘churn’ highlights a myriad of issues. Almost 50% of these 36 councillors have had to leave due to disciplinary reasons, receiving either expulsions or suspensions. Nine others resigned, and one individual ended up defecting to UKIP.
Reasons why Reform have lost dozens of newly elected councillors
A councillor in Kent has been suspended after he was charged with threatening to kill his wife. Another was expelled for allegedly declaring his desire to ‘shoot Keir Starmer’. A representative for Durham was also given the boot, for his ‘drunk and disorderly’ behaviour at an Armed Forces Day event.
Several Reform councillors have also had the whip withdrawn due to their social media posts. Despite riding high in the national opinion polls, their first six months running local authorities has been wracked with difficulty – and the levels of scrutiny are beginning to intensify.