19 May 2025

With the dramatic success of Reform UK in the local elections on 1 May, attention must now turn to considering how they will run the local authorities they now control. Reform is a fairly new political party, and has never controlled a local authority executive before. On a national level, most who follow politics will now be familiar with their headline policies: support for lower immigration, opposition to diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives and scepticism towards climate change and net zero. However, Reform’s policies and procedures on a local level are much less clear. With Reform winning outright control of ten local authorities on 1 May, trying to predict how Reform will run the local authorities they control will be important to anyone who intends to engage with local authorities in the coming months and years.