The Reform councils being hit by defections

Last May saw massive wins for Reform in the local elections in both West and North Northamptonshire as the party took control of the county's two unitary councils.

But in recent weeks there have been a number of councillors leaving the party, less than a year after being elected.

At West Northants, two councillors resigned earlier this month, and now sit as Independents. In the North, two others defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party, but within days one of them had reapplied to join Reform.

What defections have the councils seen and what could be behind them?

At the time of the defections from Reform to Restore on North Northamptonshire Council, the authority's leader Martin Griffiths said it was "disappointing" the pair had "chosen to leave the group, particularly given the support, mentoring and training" they had received since being elected.

But just days later, one of them, Darren Rance had reapplied to join Reform.

The other Jack Goncalvez, will sit as an Independent for now because Restore, launched by ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe in February, is not yet recognised by the Electoral Commission.

In West Northamptonshire, the party suspended its first councillor, Adam Smith, 34 days after he was elected. He is currently sitting as an Independent.

At the start of March, Kathryn Shaw and Joanne Blythe resigned from the party and now sit as Independents.

At the time, Reform said it was "disappointing" Shaw had resigned, and Blythe "has been suspended pending investigation after indicating her intention to become an Independent councillor".

Those recent departures leave Reform close to losing its majority at the Northampton-based local authority. The group now has 39 councillors – the exact number required for overall control of the 76-seat council.

If there are any other defections, suspensions or defeats at by-election, the party would lose its majority and would need support from opposition or Independent councillors to pass major policies.

Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said there were a number of factors as to why councillors were leaving.

"People who enter politics under a Reform banner, and previously under a UKIP banner or a Brexit banner, tend to be unusually politically inexperienced," he said.

"A second factor is that Reform is a very heterogeneous outfit. These people aren't united by much beyond a love for Nigel Farage and a dislike for 'politics as usual'.

"I don't think many people even in Reform themselves necessarily expected to be running whole councils straight away from a standing start and local government right now is particularly challenging.

"When you're faced with a difficult job with colleagues you don't always agree with, in a workplace you're not used to, working for an organisation you only joined not so very long ago, well, all of these things put together will tend to produce what we're seeing."

It's not only Reform which has lost councillors since last May.

At West Northants, Farzana Aldridge defected from Labour to the Liberal Democrats in November.

At the time a Labour Party spokesperson said: "Whilst the decision is disappointing, the Labour group in West Northants is focusing on what matters most – delivering for our residents and holding this Reform administration to account."

Meanwhile at North Northants, the Conservatives have lost two councillors since May.

Longstanding Tory member Jennie Bone defected to Reform in February, and in October Scott Brown left the party and now sits as an Independent.

It leaves Reform just one councillor down from the May elections in North Northants.

Both councils' Reform leaders said they were confident of keeping their majorities until the voters return to the ballot box in 2029.

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