Councils now run by Reform - end of the beginning or beginning of the end?

[boys3]

So after 1st May Local Elections Reform have outright control of ten top tier Councils, and are the largest, or close to the largest party, in a number of others.

How will they get on do we think? Suddenly having responsibility and accountability for real stuff.

Just for a bit of context the recent National Audit Office report on Local Government in England.
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/local-government-financial-sustainability-2025/?nab=2

These are the Councils they won outright. Number of seats they won and total seats on each Council, plus a link to the more detailed results. Some of the Councils have really good info sets with clear summaries and maps showing who won where. Others are a bit more basic. These councils deliver services for some 8 million people

Derbyshire
42/64 Derbyshire Results

Doncaster

37/55 Doncaster Results

County Durham
65/98 Durham Results

Kent

57/81 Kent Results

Lancashire
53/84 Lancashire Resuts

Lincolnshire

44/70 Lincolnshire Results

North Northants
39/68 North Northants Results

2 seats pending as ward election postponed due to death of a candidate

Nottinghamshire
40/66 Nottinghamshire Results
2 seats pending as ward election postponed due to death of a candidate

Staffordshire
49/62 Staffordshire Results

West Northants
42/76 West Northants Results

There are then 4 Councils where they are the largest party but short of a majority. Will Cons, or others, support them in any of these to give control? Or will others, incl Cons, coalesce to prevent that? We'll soon find out. If anyone knows already post away!

Cornwall 28/87. Cons have 7 seats so even combined well short of a majority. Lib Dems won 26 seats. I think more likely that Lib Dems will get support from sufficient Independents (19), Green (3) and Lab (4) to form an adminstration.
Cornwall Results

Leicestershire 25/55, so 3 short. Cons have 15 seats. So could easily support a Reform led adminstration. Or would they join with Lib Dems (11), Lab (2), Green (1) and Indie (1) to create a coalition administration that keeps Reform out?
Leicestershire Results

Warwickshire 23/57 so 5 short, Cons then have 9 seats, so could support to provide a majority. Lib Dems 14, Greens 7, Lab 3, Indie 1 - combined 25 so again short of a majority, Which way will Cons go?
Warwickshire Results

Worcestershire 27/57 so 2 short. Cons then have 12 seats, so could support to provide a majority. Or could join with the Greens (8), Lib Dems (6), Lab (2) and Indie (2) to thwart a Reform led Council. Equally only needs 2 of the 12 Cons to side with Reform to give them a majority and control though
Worcestshire Results

Of the remaining hung councils:

Northumberland Cons won 26/69, then Reform with 23, So the two combined have a comfortable majority, Or would the Cons look for support from 9 from Lab (8) Indie (7) Lib Dem (3) and Green (2) and avoid Reform. Northumberland Results

Buckinghamshire. Cons have 48/97 so 1 short of a majority. Reform only have 3 seats, but Cons only need support of 1. Equaly 1 of the 13 independents may provide that support. Buckinghamshire Results

In the others Devon, Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire support from Lab and Greens would give the Lib Dems control in each.
Hertfordshire Results
Gloucestshire Results
Devon Results

Lastly Wiltshire all down it seems to the Indies (7). Lib Dems have 43/98. Cons have 37 seats and Reform 10. Wiltshire Results

The final 3 Councils contested last Thursday all delivered Lib Dem majorities - Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire

Warwickshire - meetings planned with Cons - Reform biggest party but six short of a majority. Cons have 9 seast

Nigel Clarke, the chairman of the Warwick and Leamington branch of Reform, has said his party is happy to work with the Conservatives at a local level and meetings are already planned.

Though in the same article Lib Dems (14 seats)

With control yet to be decided between the players, Roodhouse (LD) said there had been no talk yet of any coalition deals, adding: "We'll have to wait and see how it goes."

Seems Cons support most likely to give Reform the majority - but we'll see how it plays out. First Council meeting to formally confirm everything looks to be 16 May

Durham - big Reform majority

we want to.........put more money into front-line services

Sounds great - bit light on the realistic "how" bit

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp91gg8d5e5o

Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire

https://bsky.app/profile/implausibleblog.bsky.social/post/3lojkrj3xyc2m

Andrea Jenkyns walks away from an interview with #C4News when she is asked how she's going to move asylum seekers out of hotels into tents

Ha! This is the shape of things to come!

It is very easy for Reform to stand on the sidelines and criticise. As soon as they're actually faced with the responsibility to do anything, they are not quite so confident.

We can only hope that people will watch and wise up.

Here in Cornwall all other parties have said they won’t go into coalition with them. There is apparently some “back room dealing” afoot with the other parties, although the Conservatives have said they are going it alone, as they got absolutely trousered and it was a Tory council previously.

To be honest, the Council is so badly in the shit, I don’t think Reform could make it worse.

And to think Unitary in 2009 was meant to be a good thing here.

Just picking up further on @HelpMeGetThrough 's post

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crldl3r31e6o

Reform won 28 of the 87 seats - well short of the 44 needed for a majority to win votes in the chamber.
Since then, the party said it had been rebuffed by offers to work with the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrat groups.

Big well done to the Cons, Lab, & LDs - the latter two likely never in doubt. Hope they stick to their guns on this.

Adam Paynter, leader of the Independents group of 16 councillors, said: "I hope to speak to the Reform leader in the next few days."

Well Adam, time to learn from the Cons, Lab & LDs. Though where I am a few previous "independents" turned out to be closet Reformers.

Reform whining already started:

Reform claimed it would be "undemocratic" if it was not part of the next administration - despite being the largest party on the authority.

LDs have 26 seats so not exactly far behind. Overall 59 seats not Reform

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/07/reform-uk-green-energy-assault-lincolnshire-jobs-risk

I'm trying to be optimistic, hoping that the chaos and disfunction Reform is going to cause at local and county level will act as a deterrent to voting Reform when we get to the General Election. In the meantime, though, lots of people will suffer - job losses, services poorly delivered, charity revenue cut. Still, at last the union flag will be flying above council buildings.

The councillor for Accrington North on Lancashire County Council

https://news.sky.com/story/reform-wont-suspend-councillor-who-shared-hitler-meme-during-ve-day-commemorations-13363164

Upcoming Council meeting dates when we’ll have confirmed how much influence or indeed lead Reform will have in those hung Councils, and in the ones they already have outright control who are the key players, such as Leader of the council, and a sense of policy direction. Plus how many newly elected cllrs actually turn up!

14 May

14:00 Leicestershire (hung)

15 May

17:00 West Northamptonshire

16 May

10:00 Warwickshire (hung)

20 May

10:00 Hertfordshire (hung)
10:30 Wiltshire (hung)

21 May

10:00 Gloucestershire (hung)
10:00 Durham
14:00 Derbyshire
15:00 Northumberland (hung)
16:00 Buckinghamshire (hung)

22 May

10:00 Worcestershire (hung)
10:00 Kent
10:00 Staffordshire
10:30 Nottinghamshire
13:00 Lancashire
14:00 Devon (hung)
18:00 North Northamptonshire

23 May

10:30 Lincolnshire
11:30 Doncaster

First by-election

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g2qxr79gdo

Thanks @DuncinToffee i suspect we’ll see several more over the coming weeks and months.

in that particular Nottinghamshire ward - Newark West

Reform 909 35.9%

Cons 756 29.9%

Lab 508 20.1%

Green 193 7.6%

Lib Dem’s 164 6.5%

Spoilt papers 4

Turnout 28.6%

non Reform vote 64%.

Will be interesting to see if we get the same number of parties standing. Will Reform even find a candidate?

The other Newark ward had similar percentages but flipped round. Cons 34.9%, Reform 26.1%, then Green on 19.3%

First of many I suspect. So much for cutting waste.

https://electionmaps.uk/le2025

has some great area visuals

Yes, really worried for my two autistic DGC as we are now in a county with a massive Reform majority and a Reform mayor.

I hope they do a good job. Certainly in my area (previously Labour run) they can't possibly be any worse!

I'm prepared to give them a chance, and see what they can do. But then, I said that about Starmer and look how that turned out...

They won't have any more money than the previous councillors

https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/bins-potholes-asylum-this-time-farage-is-serious-crxtbbrw6

not sure about the Bins bit. In a lot of those areas Reform has won - places like Kent, Lancs, Lincs, Notts etc they are still two tiers with the districts doing the bins, not the county councils.

I don't think they are big on details......

Do you mean the bins won't be collected, the streets will be full of potholes, and the library will be closed?

How will anyone tell the difference?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v757r571po

Kent.

many interesting bits - not in any good way.

The Council’s chief executive leaving later this year. Be interesting so see how recruiting the replacement goes - candidate tip: drape yourself in the flag of the Russian Federation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8dn3j168ro

Lincolnshire.

Reform aiming to deliver on a clear mandate for serious change.

Lucky Lincolnshire 🤔

Quite what that serious change is going to be remains to be seen.

FPTP obviously however of those who turned out to vote in Lincolnshire over 60% didn’t vote Reform.

"If I need to remove a flag to refocus our council on what it's there to do then that's what I will do."

Yes, that will magically solve everything. 😂

What's their obsession with flags? Is it the Make Britain Great Again by focusing on the Union Jack?

His Ward is a tiny turquoise spot on the East in a sea of Conservatives, maybe too much for a new boy. £25,000 it will cost the Council. Shame it can't be passed down to the runner up.