𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Reform councils have delivered more than £700 million in savings and imposed lower council tax increases than other parties, deputy leader Richard Tice insisted. He admitted there had been “stumbles” after the party gained control of 10 local authorities last year. But in the run-up to local elections on May 7, Mr Tice said: “Reform UK promised to slash the waste and keep taxes low for hard-working families, and that’s exactly what we’ve delivered.”

Critics have accused Reform of failing to keep a promise to cut council tax. The party denies it ever made this pledge but says the average increase in the party’s nine majority-run councils this year is 3.94% – while in Labour-run councils it is 4.71%, for Liberal Democrat authorities it is 5.49% and for Conservative-run councils it is 4.9%.

Mr Tice said the party had kept its promise to cut waste, including Kent County Council saving £32 million over five years by scrapping the Net Zero Renewable Energy programme, Durham County Council delivering a £73 million long-term saving by renegotiating an unfavourable incinerator contract and Lincolnshire County Council re-procuring IT contracts, leading to a long-term saving of £30 million.

He said: “Through our ruthless efficiency drive, Reform has already delivered and identified more than £700 million in savings, with more large savings to follow, and Reform councils kept council tax rises far lower than bloated Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat authorities.

“As we look ahead to the local elections on May 7, it’s clear that only Reform UK will deliver lower taxes, genuine efficiency, and councils that focus on the fundamentals instead of wasting your money on pointless vanity schemes.”

Polling expert Peter Keller said support for Nigel Farage and Reform UK had “slipped” even though it remains the most popular party, and concern about the party’s record in local government was part of the problem.

Reform has been hit by resignations, including the decision of the Reform leader of Staffordshire County Council to stand down, and the leader of Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council embarked on a public feud with his local paper.

Writing in his email newsletter, Mr Kellner said: “Polls that disagree consistently about Reform’s popularity, agree that it has fallen significantly in the past five months.”

He added: “As Reform’s agenda has become better known, and more voters become aware of its stumbles in running the counties it captured last May, it has lost a chunk of last year’s shallow converts.”