Some of the new Reform councillors elected in last week’s local polls are following in the footsteps of those elected last year – by immediately boycotting local media who refuse to act as cheerleaders for the party.
Nigel Farage’s party have had a series of run-ins with local newspapers and websites who have sought to scrutinise their leadership of councils – most notably in Nottinghamshire, where leader Mick Barton banned the Nottingham Post from speaking to him or any of his councillors.
Now, following their success in last week’s elections, Reform in two more areas have said they will not be cooperating with the local media.
In Suffolk, where Reform ended the Conservatives’ 20-year reign after taking control with a large majority of seats, the founder of local website Ipswich.co.uk says the party has banned newly-elected members from speaking to journalists.
Oliver Rouane-Williams made the claim after Shayne Pooley, the party’s chairman in Ipswich, told him his councillors had “no need to offer you a soundbite”.
Before the election, only one Reform candidate responded to an invitation from the site to answer five questions, extended to all candidates, with the responses coming “through a Reform PR representative rather than in his own voice”, according to Rouane-Williams.
Pooley had told Reform candidates and councillors not to speak to Ipswich.co.uk, or indeed any other media except for GB News, he claimed.
“The instruction held throughout the campaign,” he said. “On election day itself, only one Reform candidate, Stuart Allen, spoke briefly to the BBC. The party’s other candidates, including newly-elected councillors, declined to be interviewed or photographed on Pooley’s orders.
“When approached by us on results day, a newly elected Reform councillor told us they wanted to engage with this publication but had been told they could not, and that they were only permitted to speak to GB News.”
Reform’s policy has apparently been confirmed by a comment made by Pooley on Ipswich.co.uk’s Facebook page. He wrote: “Voters can contact their councillors directly, no need to offer you a sound bite, we are not a paycheck [sic] for you, neither we or the voters need you.”
Meanwhile, over in Swindon, Reform have announced a boycott of the town’s Advertiser newspaper, claiming it did not “demonstrate a clear commitment to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality” when it reported how the party had declined to put anybody up for interview ahead of the election.
The paper had asked the party for a spokesperson to take part in a sit-down interview about their plans for Swindon, an invitation which was taken up by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Labour. Reform apparently declined on four separate occasions. As a result, the Advertiser ran a headline saying ‘Reform Goes Missing Days Before Election’, detailing the party’s failure to put up a spokesperson.
After the election – in which Reform won 14 of the 57 seats on Swindon Borough Council, leaving it in no overall control but with the Conservatives as the largest party – the party announced it would no longer speak to “certain local media outlets” but made clear who they were talking about by referring to reports of them having “gone missing”.
In a statement, the local party said: “Reform UK Swindon is aware of a number of recent negative press stories circulating in Swindon, originating from certain local outlets and individuals presenting themselves as impartial journalists.
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“We believe that journalism should be fair, balanced, and grounded in accurate reporting. Unfortunately, that standard has not been met in several instances.
“It is particularly concerning that some media outlets have clearly failed to demonstrate impartiality, especially during an election campaign when balanced and responsible reporting is more important than ever. This lack of neutrality risks undermining public trust and distorting the information available to voters.
“For those claiming that we have ‘gone missing’ or failed to respond to enquiries, this could not be further from the truth. Our decision not to engage in certain instances is solely for the reasons outlined above.
“As a result, Reform UK will not be engaging with any media outlets that do not demonstrate a clear commitment to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality.”
Advertiser editor Daniel Chipperfield called allegations of impartiality on its coverage of the campaign trail as ‘nonsense’.
“Not a single word of complaint or concern has been raised with us by the Reform party during this election period,” he said.
“Indeed, they have been hard to reach on a number of issues, including their ongoing investigation into several of their candidates. So for them to announce publicly that this apparent situation has reached an impasse and they see no other way forward but to further disengage with proper scrutiny rings completely false.”
Reform likes to boast about its support for freedom of speech. If they do make it to national government, will its ministers refuse to speak to anybody who isn’t 100% supportive of the party – so, basically, nobody except the Mail, Express, Telegraph and GB News?
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