Reform Watch: Racist comments, finance scandals and bad ideas
Each week we cast over eyes over what Reform have been up to – from bizarre proclamations to the detail of how their attempts to run councils are going.
The Lead is keeping an eye on Reform UK and their fellow travellers. Get in touch on X, Bluesky and Instagram or email ella@thelead.uk with tips and stories. We especially want to hear from readers whose local council is now run by Farage’s followers. In today’s edition:
Reform has made a “radical” and “thorough” pledge to cut 68,000 civil service jobs if it gets into power – down from 100,000 in October. The proposal aims to reduce the salary bill by 17 per cent and save taxpayers £5.2bn each year. Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union [PCS] said: “reducing staffing in the civil service is a sure-fire way to reduce efficiency and load the taxpayer with the hidden costs of social failure,” adding, “this reduced figure is just another wild pledge demonstrating zero understanding of the civil service and how it works.”
Party leader Nigel Farage is facing a possible second investigation into allegations he overspent on his Clacton election battle by £9,000 after a whistleblower told the Daily Telegraph that the party failed to declare spending on leaflets, banners, utility bills and refurbishment of a bar in its Clacton campaign office. The party denies the allegations.
Chris Parry, one of Reform’s mayoral candidates, has been caught posting on social media that deputy prime minister David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean. Labour have urged Nigel Farage to sack him – but deputy leader Richard Tice has refused to condemn the comments.
There has been a “significant” increase in complaints against Warwickshire county councillors since the May elections. Of 23 complaints, all but four were against Reform UK councillors. Five related to social media use, but only nine had led to an investigation.
Finally, the Reform-led Derbyshire council to spend £5m on consultants to find savings, which just makes so much sense.
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Great compilation of Reform's contradictions this week. The irony of spending £5m on consultants to find savings while pledging civil service cuts is almost too perfect—it's like thery're speedrunning bad governance tropes. The Chris Parry situation shows exactly how mainstream these "go home" tropes have gotten within Reform, and Tice refusing to condemn it tells you everything bout their actual values versus the polished facade.