An explainer of some policies that Reform will try to implement, often, it appears breaking the law.
1. Net zero
Major solar and wind energy projects face threats from Reform-controlled councils whose members are instinctively hostile to net zero policies.
“We will attack, we will hinder, we will delay, we will obstruct, we will put every hurdle in your way,” said the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, of such projects.
A solar farm in Romney Marsh, Kent, which could power 20% of homes in the county, is in the crosshairs of party, which controls the council. In Staffordshire, a proposed windfarm in the county’s moorlands area and a solar farm in Cheadle will be opposed.
But Reform’s plans will also meet hostility from within communities. In Greater Lincolnshire alone, net zero industries contribute about £980m to the local economy, accounting for 12,209 jobs, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
Legally, the picture is also unclear. Reform could try to block pylons and large solar farms through the judicial review process, though the new planning and infrastructure bill aims to make the challenges harder.
2. Send provision
Farage’s unsubstantiated claims that doctors are “massively over-diagnosing” children with mental illness and special educational needs has sparked fears that Reform UK councils could further restrict or make dramatic cuts to special educational needs and disabilities provision (Send).
The 10 councils where Reform have overall control are projected to have a combined deficit by March next year of £489m. It is as much as £95m in the case of Kent and £71m in Derbyshire.
Reform councils could call for changes to the law to reduce access to education, health and care plans, which are much sought after by families of some children after years of state underinvestment in education.
However, any moves to push for cuts or reshaping of policy also potentially risks sparking a backlash from both its own voters and splits within the party. Andrea Jenkyns, the mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, has spoken about her son having ADHD and appeared to contradict Farage. James McMurdock, a Reform MP in Essex, also cast himself as a champion of parents struggling to get Send support for children.
Reform councils who unlawfully try to restrict access to Send support will face the prospect of being challenged at tribunals by families.
3. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies
In an echo of the axe taken by the Trump administration in the US, Farage has already warned: “If you are working in DEI or climate change then perhaps alternative employment is where you should be looking.”
The party’s hostility to “gender ideology” could have repercussions for councils working with charities such as Positive Health, which runs sexual health promotion, education and HIV training for Lincolnshire.
Any savings from cuts to supposed DEI-related schemes are likely to be minimal. Derbyshire and Lincolnshire have each pointed out they don’t have DEI schemes.
4. Immigration
Farage has said that Reform-controlled councils will “resist” accepting any more asylum seekers, pitting then on a potential collision course with Westminster.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s chair, has also said its legal team is examining planning law mechanisms to challenge the use of hotels for asylum accommodation.
The moves would have consequences in places such as Kent, where the county council has been at the forefront of handling provision for unaccompanied minors.
But again the law would not be on the side of councils. The responsibility falls to the Home Office, which selects the hotels and contractors for the scheme.
5. Heritage and culture
Reform has said only the St George and union flag will be flown at council property, although it backtracked when it came to the question of county flags.
The policy appeared to be aimed at the flying of rainbow flags in solidarity with LGBT+ people and to celebrate Pride. It would also spell the end of councils flying Ukrainian flags, serving as a reminder that Farage has frequently been accused by Labour of “fawning” over Vladimir Putin.
Other potential culture wars could arise over council funding of museums or galleries with exhibitions that are deemed to denigrate Britain’s history or the empire.
6. Transport
Opposition to 15-minute cities – an urban planning concept that has become a lightning rod for conspiracy theorists – and support for “pro-motorist” policies have long been red meat to Reform.
Farage lashed out in the local election campaign at “cycle lanes that no one uses” while Reform’s likely leader of Worcestershire county council, Alan Amos, claimed: “All the other parties have bent over backwards to please a small minority.”
At the same time, Amos was eager to emphasise that Reform was eager to support bus travel, a hot issue in a number of counties where Reform’s voter base has tended to be older.
When it comes to cycling, existing policies at many councils are already advanced while there is strong public support for cycling schemes.
Guardian today.
Oreo
Councils often waste both time and money on ridiculous projects.
Yes, but they are usually very local issues. Councils have so much to do and a massive remit, that the time available to pursue the councillors’ wish lists is very limited, as the officers they rely on to do the legwork have lots of other must do work to meet all the legal requirements and policy adherence expected of them.
Councils often waste both time and money on ridiculous projects.
Oreo
eazybee
If it means there will be much closer scrutiny of Net Zero, SEND, DEI, Immigration, Heritage and Culture, and Transport, Good.
Since the Supreme Court ruling about Biological Sex and transgender issues, we have learned that so much we were told about these issues is actually NOT the law and can be disputed.
The huge rise in children claiming mental health issues since Covid is extremely unlikely; Net Zero is impractical and increasingly expensive; the imposition of flags supporting various protest groups on work places unfair, and buses are important for all the population, not just the elderly. Immigration is a huge issue, one that concerns many and will have a far -reaching impact.
I doubt if Reform will be able to stop much, but at least these subjects will be open to discussion and people, previously unable or too intimidated to voice their opinions, will be given a hearing.
And I am not a Reform voter.I hear you!😃
Discussing these issues at local council level already goes on at great length in councils of all different political hues, throughout the UK already though. Ultimately the councils’ responsibility is to deliver against a set range of laws and policies, so their ability to make real change is limited, as is their ability to influence national direction, whichever party is in power in Westminster.
The parties all need to remind themselves, that it is ordinary no political party membership people, called electors that vote them in, not party activists, and no matter how much the activists may want something to be party policy and in the manifesto etc etc. if ordinary people diagree with it, it will just ensure they do not vote for that party.
That is why Mrs Thatcher and Tony Blair were so successful, people voted for them because they offered policies that appealed to them.
I find nothing more laughable than to listen to Labour activists, dissing Tony Blair and New Labour, while making themselves unelectable. They need to remember that in last year's election they got only 34% of the vote. Add the share that Reform got to the Conservative share and it was 4% more than Labour.
If an election was held next week, we would have a Reform/ Conservative coalition government and Labour would lose almost as many seats as it gained.
Good point Cumbrianmale56 about political parties not looking down their noses either at Reform or their voters.
They underestimate them at their peril.
eazybee
If it means there will be much closer scrutiny of Net Zero, SEND, DEI, Immigration, Heritage and Culture, and Transport, Good.
Since the Supreme Court ruling about Biological Sex and transgender issues, we have learned that so much we were told about these issues is actually NOT the law and can be disputed.
The huge rise in children claiming mental health issues since Covid is extremely unlikely; Net Zero is impractical and increasingly expensive; the imposition of flags supporting various protest groups on work places unfair, and buses are important for all the population, not just the elderly. Immigration is a huge issue, one that concerns many and will have a far -reaching impact.
I doubt if Reform will be able to stop much, but at least these subjects will be open to discussion and people, previously unable or too intimidated to voice their opinions, will be given a hearing.
And I am not a Reform voter.
I hear you!😃
Reform reminds me of the SDP in the early eighties, although their outlook is rather different. The SDP was formed by disgruntled members of other parties, was briefly very popular as the government of the day was very unopular and the opposition was a joke, but they failed to capitalise on their early success and were gone in less than 10 years. I think the same might happen to Reform, particularly if the Labour government listens more to their critics and the economy improves.
I'm no lover of Reform, but the other parties need to understand why they've become so popular instead of looking down on their voters as right wing racists and thick. All this will do is make the 25-30% of voters who support Reform stay with them.
Chocolatelovinggran
As with others here, I wonder how many of our new councillors understand their remit - and it's limitations.
Mr Farage was quoted as saying " If you work in ...( add any of his bete noires)- you need to look for another job"
Councillors have no authority to hire and fire staff. Oh, but let's not let facts get in the way of a rant.
I understand that the first action of the new leader of Kent County Council was to remove the Ukranian flag from ...wherever.
I feel there might be more pressing priorities.
I quite agree, many of them will realise that people aren't living in hotels as they know them, but a small room in a shared buildings, they are housed as cheaply as possible and given just a small amount of money pending appraisal of their immigration status.
I was disgusted with Farages comments on SEND and that some of these people get diagnosed by GP's on the phone. That has never been the case. They have a lot to learn
They really need a dose of reality and hopefully they are going to get it when they realise there isn't a whole load of waste in councils and they don't have the power to hire and fire that they expected.
But easybee, what makes you think that many councils have not had to scrutinise costs over and over already in detail but come up against realities?
And the idea that local people don't speak up on these issues or are afraid - just doesnt happen.
People are grumbling/moaning/suggesting/letters/emails all the time
What sings out to me about these policies is how naive Reform must be politically to voice so many, so definitely, so early. They really are setting themselves as councils which will fail to deliver. It would have been so much better to keep their powder dry until they understood what the remit of councils is, what their limitations are, and how to make the wheels turn to turn policies into reality.
If it means there will be much closer scrutiny of Net Zero, SEND, DEI, Immigration, Heritage and Culture, and Transport, Good.
Since the Supreme Court ruling about Biological Sex and transgender issues, we have learned that so much we were told about these issues is actually NOT the law and can be disputed.
The huge rise in children claiming mental health issues since Covid is extremely unlikely; Net Zero is impractical and increasingly expensive; the imposition of flags supporting various protest groups on work places unfair, and buses are important for all the population, not just the elderly. Immigration is a huge issue, one that concerns many and will have a far -reaching impact.
I doubt if Reform will be able to stop much, but at least these subjects will be open to discussion and people, previously unable or too intimidated to voice their opinions, will be given a hearing.
And I am not a Reform voter.
I always think of Refom as a party with a very loud mouth but no trousers, like other parties (unnamed) at national level, there is an enormous gap between the pre, and immediately post election, rhetoric and what they actually do once reality strikes and they have to try to govern.
Oreo
We won’t know how successful or inept they are really until about 6 months to a year in.
We'll know if they are taking their obligations seriously and making considered changes - or if they are intent on wrecking.
Bad rapid decisions could seriously affect care and all the other key provisions very rapidly.
1.
they can hinder planning can they not?
Pretty sure Councils have that power around here.
We won’t know how successful or inept they are really until about 6 months to a year in.
Perhaps some their supporters will come along and explain more?
Will abolishing Net Zero also mean no more recycling collections? Will families living in areas of high air pollution cease to be a concern? Will all the jobs in alternative energy be chopped?
Number 4 is likely to be the one with a showdown between government and local councils. councils would have to use legal means to refuse them
google
"Council Influence:
While councils cannot refuse asylum seekers, they can express concerns and even take legal action if they believe the Home Office's decisions are not in the best interests of the community or if they are not adequately consulted"
I expect discussions are afoot on (4)!
Well, neither 1 nor 4 are in the LAs hands so much of it is hot air.
Evem if they "only" do 1. and 4. that will be quite a lot.
fancythat
I will look at that list in more detail later.
I cant remember who the posters were on GN, but some were saying what could Reform Councillors do[from what I remember].
Well the answer appears to be plenty.
There may be a difference between what they think they can do, and what they actually can do. I'm not sure at all how au fait Farage himself is on how local councils function. When has he gained the experience? Not as a member of the EU council for sure, and he rarely goes near Clacton.
As the New Statesman says (hardly a leftie publication)
"Farage has never been a councillor, nor have a large swathe of the 600 Reform candidates who were elected last Thursday. After getting their feet under the desk at their new local authorities, they are likely to find that providing social care, running SEND provision and mending potholes (oh, and don’t forget housing), is pretty much all local authorities can afford to do under current circumstances.
More than a decade of austerity saw councils core spending power cut by 27 per cent, and in the years between 2010-11 and 2022-23 English local authorities made an estimated £24.5bn in cuts.
Meanwhile, demand for services has boomed, with the UK’s ageing population fuelling pressure on social care and the dwindling availability of social housing leading more councils to house people in temporary accommodation (at a much greater cost). Plans to set up a “Doge in every county” – modelled on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency – may well flounder when Reform’s new legion of councillors find there simply isn’t anything left to cut."
Whitewavemark2
To be perfectly frank, I think Reform and particularly Farage are very good at criticising various issues, but appear clueless as to how to resolve them.
Yes but they never expected that they would have to resolve them, did they?
I will look at that list in more detail later.
I cant remember who the posters were on GN, but some were saying what could Reform Councillors do[from what I remember].
Well the answer appears to be plenty.
To be perfectly frank, I think Reform and particularly Farage are very good at criticising various issues, but appear clueless as to how to resolve them.
I'm wondering about SEND tribunals. If LAs insist on taking decisions to tribunals and are frequently defeated I wonder if that isn't just as expensive for the council as providing funding for the pupil in the first place?
If a tribunal is a statutory right for parents (which I'm not sure of) there's nothing that Reform could do to cut the funding for them.
"As with others here, I wonder how many of our new councillors understand their remit - and its limitations".
Well many are completely new to the ways councils work and their obligations and limitations. A little humility would go a long way.
I am sure that many do wish to "Serve" and will work with what actually are the realities - but others have an ideological agenda to impose without understanding the complexities and needs.
On another board I read that Reform councillors were boycotting "on principle" a diversity training day that was pre-arranged for some time:
to educate councillors about the many issues diversity officers deal with on an everyday basis.
Speakers at the day of course included people from disability organisations whose members get support to get and keep work, and new information about laws affecting women non pregnancy leave and so on.
Sheer ignorance - surely common sense was to go to the day and only then decide on the usefulness or otherwise of this line of work.
As regards SEND, as Galaxy points out, it's a complex issue involving a whole number of different professionals.
Again, new councillors need to make the effort to be informed before making decisions about cuts. I'm sorry I cant recall the name or source, but I did read of one Reform councillor whose child was a SEND child, and he didn't spout Reform theory.
Taking down the Ukrainian flag - what on earth was than all about? Honestly.....
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