Reform UK name likely future leader of Lancashire County Council after shock election landslide
Reform UK has named the man set to be the new leader of Lancashire County Council.
Cllr Stephen Atkinson was elected as the leader of the Reform UK group on the council, which holds the majority of council seats following the election on 1 May.It is expected Cllr Atkinson will be ratified as council leader at a meeting of the full council on 22 May.Reform's win saw them take 53 of the county council's 84 seats, unseating both Conservative and Labour local leaders - having previously had no seats at all on the authority.
Speaking on the steps of County Hall in Preston, Cllr Atkinson said: "We will be considered on our approach. We'll not be reckless but we have a clear focus to deliver on those issues."The British people are fed up. They've been put to the back of the queue for too long and this is a chance to make a difference."
Cllr Stephen Atkinson speaks after being elected leader of the majority Reform UK group on Lancashire County Council.
Cllr Atkinson, 55, who represents the division of Ribble Valley South West, served as leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council from January 2019 until he stood down earlier this year.
Born in Lancashire, he runs an educational furniture business in the county with his brother.
The father-of-two said: "I am passionate about Lancashire and can't wait to start working to ensure the council delivers excellent services for all our residents.
"Together with my fellow councillors I will be looking to focus our policies on what is most important to residents so we can make a real difference.
"I'm also very much looking forward to working with officers as we build a better future for our county."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
29 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Reform UK's Nigel Farage's eight election policies for Wales
Reform UK's Nigel Farage's eight election policies for Wales It includes a pledge to resume coal mining in Wales Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attends a press conference (Image: Getty Images ) Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has given his first glimpse of policies the party will campaign on ahead of the Senedd election in 2026. These include resuming coal mining in south Wales and changing the order in which people can access social housing. There is also a pledge to "reopen" the steelworks at Port Talbot- although owner Tata has different plans. Polling suggests that Reform UK will get its first seats in the Senedd at the election next May. The new look Senedd will have 96 rather than 60 MSs as part of sweeping changes. A YouGov/Barn Cymru poll asked people their voting intention for the Welsh Parliament in May put Reform UK in second with 25% of the vote. They were only behind Plaid Cymru who were projected to get 30% of the vote and ahead of Labour's 18%. You can read that here. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here In an opinion piece for WalesOnline ahead of a visit to Port Talbot, the party leader has given his first glimpses of policies ahead of the election ahead of a speech at noon today (June 9). There are live updates from that here. Article continues below Admitting that Reform is starting from a low base with only a handful of councillors in Wales, he says: "It is clear that the people of Wales want Reform. Our growth in Wales has been extraordinary. We now have almost 11,000 members and tens of thousands of supporters. We are winning Council by-elections in Wales with almost 50% of the vote," he writes. He has also said: "Welsh politics, we're coming to get you". You can read that here. His policies are: Article continues below More coal mining in Wales . Farage says: "We would allow coal, if suitable, to be mined in Wales". . Farage says: "We would allow coal, if suitable, to be mined in Wales". Reopen Port Talbot steelworks. Farage says that is, "part of Reform's long-term ambition to reopen the Port Talbot Steelworks but we know this will not be quick or easy". Farage says that is, "part of Reform's long-term ambition to reopen the Port Talbot Steelworks but we know this will not be quick or easy". Redirect funding to factories. He says Welsh Development Grants would "redirect economic funding from consultants and NGOs to actual factory floors, machinery, and industrial jobs in places like Llanelli, Shotton, and Ebbw Vale." He says Welsh Development Grants would "redirect economic funding from consultants and NGOs to actual factory floors, machinery, and industrial jobs in places like Llanelli, Shotton, and Ebbw Vale." Set up regional technical colleges. The Reform leader says these would teach welding, plumbing, robotics, electrical trades, and industrial automation The Reform leader says these would teach welding, plumbing, robotics, electrical trades, and industrial automation End funding to the Welsh Refugee Council. He says: "We would end funding to the Wales Refugee Council and scrap the 'Nation of Sanctuary' for asylum seekers and any funding that goes with it." He says: "We would end funding to the Wales Refugee Council and scrap the 'Nation of Sanctuary' for asylum seekers and any funding that goes with it." Social housing systems waiting change . The Reform leader says: "We will put the interests of the Welsh people first and make sure that local people go to the front of the social housing queue". . The Reform leader says: "We will put the interests of the Welsh people first and make sure that local people go to the front of the social housing queue". Stop building housing for asylum seekers . Farage says: "We'd stop the use of any building for asylum seeker accommodation". . Farage says: "We'd stop the use of any building for asylum seeker accommodation". Cut bureaucracy: He says "Reform UK Senedd will also save hundreds of millions each year by cutting bureaucracy, waste and bad management. The establishment of Welsh DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] will help us uncover where there is woke and wasteful spending and we will make sure those funds are redirected to frontline services."
Daily Record
29 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Reform UK seizing control of councils sees rise in trade union membership
Reform UK have said they will seek to cut waste in local government, leading to fears of job cuts. Union membership in councils run by Reform has increased since the party took control of local authorities after the May elections, new figures reveal. The GMB, led by Edinburgh-born Gary Smith, said workers were 'flocking' to join unions amid fears of cuts to pay, jobs and conditions by Reform. Councils where the GMB has seen an increase in membership include Durham, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Doncaster. GMB national officer Rachel Harrison told the PA news agency: 'Reform spouts a lot of nonsense about being on the side of workers, but these figures show people aren't buying it. 'Workers in Reform-led councils are flocking to join unions because they know the first thing Farage and his cronies will do is attack low-paid staff's terms and conditions.' Smith, who is the GMB 's General Secretary, launched an angry attack against Reform in a speech to the union's annual conference in Brighton at the weekend, saying Nigel Farage and his 'ex-Tory soulmates' were no friends of workers. 'They've spent a political lifetime attacking trade unions and the rights we have all fought so hard for. Decent pay, better conditions, protections we cherish. 'Why is it always the posh, private schoolboys who want act like they're working-class heroes? 'Do they really think we can't see the bankers, the chancers, the anti- union blowhards? 'If Reform are so pro-worker, why did they just vote against protections against fire and rehire? Why did they vote against sick pay for all workers? Why did they vote against fair pay for carers? Why did they vote against trade union rights to access and organise in places like Amazon? 'Now they are going to run town halls, and the first thing they want to do is sack council workers. 'It's high time they were called out for their sneering, snooty attitude about so-called ' gold-plated ' pensions. "Go ask a local authority care worker, refuse collector, street cleaner, school support staff member if they think their meagre pension is gold-plated. ' Reform 's abuse and name-calling of low-paid public sector workers is an utter disgrace.'
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Zia Yusuf: Reform UK burka row is 'storm in a teacup'
Former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has called a row over a social media post - in which he said it was "dumb" for one of his MPs to call for a burka ban - a "storm in a teacup". Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Yusuf said he regretted the post and that "exhaustion led to a poor decision". Shortly after criticising MP Sarah Pochin, Yusuf quit as chairman saying that trying to get Reform UK elected was not "a good use of my time".However, two days later he returned to work for the party albeit in a different role, leading the party's Doge unit, a team inspired by the US Department of Government Efficiency, set up by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The initiative aims to cut wasteful spending in the councils Reform now why he had resigned as chairman, Yusuf said: "I've been working pretty much non-stop, virtually no days off."It is very difficult to keep going at that pace."He said one of the reasons he had "changed his decision so quickly" and returned to work for the party, was that he had been "inundated" by supportive messages from Reform voters and members. The series of events began last Wednesday when Pochin, the newly-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer if he would join France and Denmark in banning the burka, a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body, "in the interests of public safety".The following day Yusuf, who is a Muslim, posted on X: "I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do".Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Yusuf said "the thing that frustrated me at the time" was that Pochin had not chosen to ask something that was party for his views on a ban, he said: "If I was an MP I would think about it very deeply, I think I probably would be in favour of banning face coverings in public writ large, not just the burka."I'm very queasy and uneasy about banning things that for example would be unconstitutional in the US but we have a particular situation in the UK."He said he did not believe Islam was "a threat to the country" but added that the UK had "a problem with assimilation". Over the weekend, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was also asked her views on banning the burka. She told the Telegraph: "People should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear."However, she said that organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear and that she asked people coming to her constituency surgeries to remove face coverings "whether it's a burka or a balaclava". "I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face," she Muslim Council of Britain accused her of "desperation" adding: "Kemi Badenoch isn't setting the agenda - she's scrambling to keep up with Reform UK's divisive rhetoric."
