What might Reform UK do with its newly-won power?
Following this week's local elections, Reform UK has, for the first time, won control of local councils.It is now in charge in 10 areas, and there are a further four where it is the largest party. The party also has two new mayors in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire.Having fought a successful campaign, Nigel Farage's party now has to show what it will do with its new power.
Town hall Doge
Farage has said he wants to see "a Doge in every county". Doge, is the Department of Government Efficiency set up by US President Donald Trump and his adviser the tech billionaire Elon Musk with the aim of slashing government spending. Speaking to journalists as his party stormed to victory in Durham, Farage set out what that was likely to mean in Reform-led councils across the country."I think you all better really be seeking alternative careers," he warned council staff who were "working on climate change initiatives, or Diversity, Equality and Inclusion" or opting to work from home.He added: "We want to give council taxpayers better value for money, reduce excessive expenditure, find out who long-term contracts are with, reduce the scale of local government back to what it ought to be - providing social care, providing SEN needs for kids, mending pot holes."
His message was echoed by Darren Grimes, once a GB News presenter, now a Reform councillor in Durham.Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said essential services were being under-funded while councils were spending "fortunes on net-zero pet projects, building rainbow crossings or hiring £70,000 a year diversity managers". Asked if there would be sackings, he said his party would be sending in auditors to see what jobs there are and "if they are good value for money". Speaking to the same programme, Tony Travers, professor of public policy at the London School of Economics, said there had been 15 years of cuts to local council budgets and warned it would be "very, very hard to find substantial savings in this part of the public sector".
Asylum seeker accommodation
Reform has railed against high levels of immigration and the numbers coming to the UK in small boats across the channel.In its general election manifesto it said it would implement a freeze on non-essential immigration. Those with certain skills - for example in healthcare - would still be allowed to come to the UK.Local councils don't have control over nationwide immigration policy, but Farage has said his party will "resist central government plonking hundreds of these young men in these counties that we now run". Grimes said Reform would not "allow our communities to be a dumping ground for illegal migrants".The Home Office is responsible for housing adult asylum seekers while a decision is made on whether they can stay in the UK and it is not clear how councils could stop people being accommodated in their area.A rise in the numbers of people seeking asylum has led to hotels being increasingly used for accommodation.In its manifesto the Labour government promised to stop using hotels for this purpose, which in 2023/24 cost £3.1bn; however early this year a minister confirmed the number of hotels had risen since the election.
Inexperience 'an advantage'
Many of the party's newly-elected councillors have little political experience, however Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice says that will be "an advantage".Tice admitted there would need to be "a learning process" and it would be "ridiculous" to say there would be no mistakes, but that Reform councillors would be "honest where we get things wrong".He said: "I think in many, many cases that's an advantage, coming to something fresh without any emotional, traditional party baggage and applying common sense."Of course there's a certain learning process for some people but I'm very confident we will do an outstanding job."As concerns around competency were aired by activists, party chairman Zia Yusuf confirmed Reform UK would be expanding its centre for excellence to train up new councillors.Yusuf has pushed Reform's Centre for Excellence as a means of professionalising the party and says it has already trained up 1,000 candidates.The centre is a crash-course in effective campaigning, as well as support with emails and social media messaging.
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