Reform councillor 'disappointed' by cabinet firing

A Reform UK member of Worcestershire County Council has been fired from the cabinet and calls his removal "disappointing".

Councillor Karl Perks was cabinet member for highways and transport on the authority.

Perks said he had been "critical of certain behaviours" exhibited by the Reform leadership, and told the BBC he was not surprised by the decision.

Council leader Jo Monk said: "In order to continue to move forward at pace, it is imperative my cabinet team operate as a cohesive unit."

Perks's removal comes four weeks after stormy scenes at the annual budget setting meeting, where he was unhappy with several spending changes, including the scrapping of a £12m revamp of Redditch railway station.

Perks said: "I'm disappointed by this decision, but am I surprised? Unfortunately not.

"There's more to it than the budget, but right now Reform is more important than both myself and the leader.

"It's fair to say I have my morals and my views, and I wasn't prepared to accept and go along with things for the sake of just saying 'yes' - if I saw potential issues, then I'd speak up."

He also told the BBC he was intent on remaining a Reform UK councillor from the backbenches.

"We need to come together and understand what hasn't worked for us over the last few months, and decide how we progress and move forwards," he said.

"And [we need to] be the party that Worcestershire deserves, not necessarily the one that they currently have."

Perks said he was "most proud" of the expansion of Worcestershire's "on demand" bus services, and work he had done with the police and crime commissioner on data sharing of road collision blackspots, during his 10 months in the cabinet.

Councillor Nik Price has been given the role of cabinet member for highways and transport on an interim basis.

Monk said: "As people will be aware, the council has been through a particularly difficult period with tough decisions needing to be made to secure its future.

"Over recent weeks, it has become clear that changes to my team are required to maintain this cohesion.

"On this basis, I have made the decision to change the portfolio holder for highways and transport.

"I would like to thank Karl Perks for his commitment and work since last May - Karl remains a valued member of the Reform UK team."

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