Reform Watch: Raising council tax in Kent and deputy leader in employment legal dispute
Each week we cast over eyes over what Reform have been up to - from 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 UK managed to win six out of seven of this month’s by-elections in Wigan, the Isle of Wight, Cheshire West and three in Maidstone, Kent. As the Kent Current reported, activists are (rightly) worried the newly-elected councillors won’t show up to the next meeting on Monday. “All three of them need to be at that. It’s embarrassing if not,” one was overheard saying. Let’s see, shall we?
Kent has joined the list of Reform-led councils likely to raise council tax next year, along with Durham, Staffordshire and West Northamptonshire. Reform’s cabinet member for adult social care, Diane Morton, said council tax would probably go up by the maximum 5 per cent. Council leader Linden Kemkaran said Kent was a test bed for the party’s national policies and the “shop window through which everybody is going to see what a Reform government might look like.” Indeed!
The deputy leader of Lancashire County Council has vowed to take Sefton Council to an employment tribunal, believing he was forced out for his political beliefs.
Simon Evans is the deputy leader of Lancashire County Council County Councillor Simon Evans, who was elected as a Reform councillor for Skelmersdale Central in May, says he was forced to quit due to his association with Reform UK. Sefton Council refutes the claims. Our sister publication, the Lancashire Lead, has the full story.
Nigel Farage has more ‘second jobs’ than anyone else in the House of Commons and makes twice as much as the next highest earning MP (Rishi Sunak) with £1.2 million in his bank since last year’s general election, the Mirror has reported. Those earnings come from his job on GB News, as brand ambassador for Direct Bullion (£281,000) and doing videos for Cameo (£171,00), among other things.
If there were any doubts Reform would be a real alternative to the Conservatives, please note that 20 Tory MPs defected to Reform this week, over the course of the Tory Party’s annual conference.
Ensure we can keep a close eye on everything Reform are doing by becoming a paid subscriber to The Lead and support us to be an independent progressive publication tackling the people, places and policies affecting the UK right now.