At the local elections in May 2025, Reform UK won the largest number of seats with 677, amounting to 41% of all seats up for election. The Tories lost an almost identical 675 seats.
Psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher modelled the results to give a projected national share of the vote as follows:
Reform UK – 32%
Labour – 19%
Conservatives – 18%
Liberal Democrats – 16%
Greens – 7%
Reform’s seat gains translated into control of ten councils. They took eight of these from the Conservatives:
Derbyshire, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, West Northamptonshire.
One council was gained from Labour – Doncaster, and one from no overall control – Durham.
Mayoral victories
In addition to their council wins, Reform UK also took two mayoralties – in Hull and East Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire. In Hull and East Yorkshire, former Olympic gold medallist boxer Luke Campbell secured 35.8% of the vote ahead of the Lib Dem candidate on 27.7%. Meanwhile, in Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a former Tory MP and minister in Boris Johnson’s won with 42.0% of the vote, beating the Tory candidate into second place on 26.1%. These were both newly created mayoralities.
Reform announces its own Doge
Soon after the elections, Reform UK announced it was setting up its own version of the ill-fated Department of Government Efficiency, the brainchild of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. During the local elections, Reform candidates had vowed to root out wasteful council spending in order to cut council tax bills. Council employees were threatened with the sack if they obstructed Reform Doge’s efforts.
Council controversies
It was not long before controversies started emerging in local and media concerning these new Reform councils and their councillors. We monitor these controversies on our Council Watch page.
