Reform UK has announced the addition of 20 councillors across England, marking a gain from various political affiliations, including the Conservative and Green parties.
Among the new cohort are 14 former Conservative councillors, five independents, and one Green Party representative, now representing areas such as Stoke-on-Trent, Thanet, and Bolsover under the Reform UK banner.
The intake features individuals with diverse backgrounds, including a former BBC journalist, a one-time hostage in Iraq, and an engineer who departed the Green Party, led by Zack Polanski, to join Reform UK.
Richard Tice MP, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, expressed his enthusiasm, stating he was “thrilled to welcome 20 new councillors from across the political spectrum”.
While Reform UK has seen a notable increase in its number of councillors in recent years, its representation still lags behind that of the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and Labour.
Nigel Farage’s party achieved significant gains in last year’s local elections, assuming control of 10 councils and adding hundreds of councillors to its ranks.
The party aims to replicate this success in the upcoming local and national elections in May across England, Wales, and Scotland, buoyed by consistent polling leads.
The addition of these 20 councillors follows the recent move of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who became the latest senior Conservative to join Reform UK.
Zahawi was among approximately 20 former Tory MPs to defect to Farage’s party, which currently holds five seats in the House of Commons.
In response, the Conservatives remarked that Reform UK was “fast becoming the party of has-been politicians looking for their next gravy train”.
The newly announced Reform UK councillors represent local authorities in Horsham, Middlesbrough, the Wirral, Reading, Thanet, Suffolk, Gravesham, Bolsover, St Helens, Havant, Waltham, Somerset, Stoke-on-Trent, West Suffolk, Calderdale, and Waltham Forest.
Among the Conservative defectors is Reading councillor Clarence Mitchell, a former newspaper and broadcast journalist who now operates a PR consultancy.
Mitchell stated, “Having been a member of the Conservative Party for 16 years, I now believe that Reform UK is the only party that can truly represent and fight for the authentic values that are fundamental to our country’s recovery and its restoration of pride.”
Another defection involved David Hawley, a St Helens councillor who transitioned from the Green Party to Reform UK.
“I voted for Brexit to take back control of Britain’s borders and lower immigration, yet the government failed to do so,” he commented.
“It is time for me to join the party which best represents the views of myself and the people of St Helens in order to act on the improvements I have long strived for.”
Barry Manners, initially elected as a Conservative in Thanet, left the party in May of the previous year and served as an independent before announcing his affiliation with Reform UK.
He noted that his experience of being held captive in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 had “taught me the importance of resilience, responsibility, and strong leadership”.
The Conservative Party and Green Party have been approached for comment.
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