Reform appoints first woman to cabinet at County Hall

Reform UK has appointed its first woman to its cabinet at Lancashire County Council.

Ella Worthington, who represents the Skelmersdale West ward, is now the cabinet member for civic pride, a position that has never existed before at County Hall.

The administration said this was part of its vision "to transform Lancashire into a county where every resident feels connected, valued and proud of their community".

But, the leader of the opposition, Independent county councillor Azhar Ali said: "I think this is just a tokenistic gesture, no one knows what the role is or what the job entails."

Worthington disagrees: "It's all about civic pride across Lancashire, giving people a voice, giving them pride in where they live, helping institutions and business move forward, giving people civic pride and the love of the area that they live in."

When Reform took control a year ago and named its cabinet, there was surprise that there was no female representation, especially as the former Conservative council leader had been a woman.

Speaking at the time, the leader of the council Stephen Atkinson said: "I'm sure that some of the ladies of the group will be useful in the future at the cabinet level, but when the skills are the right skills."

Worthington, who had no previous political experience before being elected in May 2025, believes she has met that requirement: "It's based on my skills and performance, not on me being a female."

Atkinson welcomed her appointment: "I'm delighted to have Ella on board to deliver this initiative, she works incredibly hard and is passionate about delivering for our communities across Lancashire."

Cabinet posts at County Hall are paid around £23,597 on top of the basic councillor allowance of £14,301.

Ali believes instead of creating this new post, the money would be better spent elsewhere: "It's all smoke and mirrors, what we need is real people doing some proper jobs and making sure roads are fit for a purpose, weeding, gullies emptied and the basic things that residents want."

Worthington has already attended her first cabinet meeting and said she was looking forward to getting on with the job: "My goal is to deliver this initiative successfully, and so that Lancashire residents see value in that and improve civic pride across Lancashire."