“They’re the most optimistic group of people I have met,” cheered upbeat Reform leader Nigel Farage to the Bromsgrove Standard last April as he met his party’s candidates for Worcestershire County Council. “If you weren’t optimistic, you wouldn’t do this but they clearly believe they can win Worcestershire County Council.
“On a local level, it is not Worcestershire County Council’s job to spend £500,000 on decarbonisation – that’s not their job. Their job is to represent council taxpayers and spend money on local services – for SEND kids, roads and other services.
“It needs a big shake-up and we’re the only ones who can do it.”
And by jove, did they do it! Reform won 27 of Worcestershire’s seats, two short of a majority, but enough to form a minority administration and put leader Jo Monk in charge. Well done Reform! And now, nearly 12 months on, how does Farage feel? He’s become possibly the first party leader in history to tell the voters they were wrong to put his party in control.
“Worcestershire, I have to say, we took minority control of a virtually bankrupt council, I wish we hadn’t bothered,” Farage says now. Asked whether he wished his party had not won the county at the polls last year, he said: “No, no, no – we didn’t win the election, we formed a coalition and we were always on a hiding to nothing.”
The Reform leader’s gripe is that, by asking for permission to put up council tax for a limit-busting almost nine percent next year, Reform’s Worcestershire administration had hiked up the party’s average tax rises across England, making their local government performance look even worse.
A string of local authorities under the control of turquoise Tories following last year’s local elections have announced council tax rises in the next financial year, despite vowing to slash them when running for office.
These include Reform’s flagship authority, Kent, which has announced a rise in council tax of 3.99%, and Worcestershire, given special permission by the government to increase it by 8.98%.
Little wonder Farage now says: “It’s bankrupt. We didn’t make it bankrupt, we inherited it. Look at the ones that we’re in control of… of course if you took Worcestershire out, the rise would be even lower than it is.” But that, alas for Farage, is not how averages work.
Elsewhere in the Midlands, a women’s advocacy group has called for a formal investigation after a Reform councillor allegedly made sexist remarks about gender at – checks – an International Women’s Day event.
Peter York, vice chairman of West Northamptonshire Council, allegedly said “some women should have never left the kitchen” during the event at Northampton Guildhall. He is also alleged to have criticised the government’s cabinet for having too many women in it.
York has since said he was “provoked” and his comments were taken “out of context” but apologised for any offence taken. What a charmer!
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