'I'm sure Reform will find savings but doubt it will have the impact they hoped', says Northants political expert

Reform UK is basking in its victory from winning a sweeping majority in the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) elections. However, with a fresh-faced cabinet and council committees appointed, all eyes are now on them to see where they take the county.

Throughout its election campaign, which started with a bang with the arrival of Nigel Farage in Kettering in April, the party found success in its hard stance on immigration, wasteful spending, and dissatisfaction with the main two parties.

Northamptonshire politics expert, Kate Ironside, has reflected on the group’s priorities for the future, pointing out some of the challenges that could lie ahead and some goals that could be difficult to implement locally.

“They won a remarkable victory in the local elections,” the former Westminster political journalist and University of Northampton lecturer told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). “They booted out the Conservatives who’d had a massive majority and now Reform UK, the new kids on the block, are in charge.”

New council, big responsibilities

Reform UK has formed a majority administration on the council, boasting 42 members out of 76 across the whole floor. Their newfound support has thrust elected members into complete control of finances, services, and day-to-day running of the council, despite many being political newcomers.

“This is the first time that I have seen a council this size with this level of responsibilities, and it has whopping responsibilities, being taken over and run by a council-cabinet of individuals who are brand new to local government,” Mrs Ironside said.

“That’s not to say that they don’t have really valuable life experience – I’m sure many of them do. It’s not to devalue the importance of having a fresh set of eyes, coming up with new ideas and challenging the status quo.

“Running a council is a big, tough job. There are loads of legal responsibilities and legal constraints, there are contractual responsibilities that need to be abided by.

“We do not really know how they are going to set about dealing with adult social care, the Children’s Trust, and that’s before we even get onto potholes. What is going to be fascinating is seeing them grow into the jobs, sink their teeth into it, and see which direction they go.”

Cutting wasteful spending

One of Reform UK’s key commitments has been auditing council spending and getting rid of waste to direct cash to other core services. A goal set by Farage during his Northamptonshire visit was to create a ‘DOGE-style operation’ for the county. National pledges in the party’s manifesto also focus on slashing government waste and bureaucracy and lowering taxes.

When asked about the feasibility of finding areas to cut out waste and making savings in local government, Mrs Ironside said that wasteful spending does exist, but they are not always easy to find in local councils.

“I have lost count of the amount of politicians that have said we are going to cut wasteful spending,” she said. “Don’t forget councils have been severely cut over the last 15 years, they are operating largely on a shoe-string.

“I’m sure that the new Reform administration will find savings, but we’re not necessarily talking about big bucks. There may be little bits here and there, but I doubt it will have the impact they would have hoped.”

In the last year, WNC said it had found savings of £25m ahead of setting its annual budget in February, through making new service efficiencies to help balance the books.

Outgoing Conservative leader Adam Brown told the LDRS at the election count that councils have a “series of really tough choices to make” and that there isn’t a lot of money to put into issues like potholes.

“I fear that not a lot will change with a change of administration because they’ll still have the same series of tough choices to make,” he predicted at the count.

WNC Leader Mark Arnull hinted that some savings could come from looking at council executives with six-figure salaries if they weren’t providing ‘value for money’ for taxpayers. Other areas the national party have vowed to dig into costs include the council’s involvement in climate change and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Housing asylum seekers

Another commitment made ahead of the elections by Reform was to tackle the number of asylum seekers being housed in the county.

An extract from the party’s local commitments read: “Hotels for illegal immigrants while locals wait years for housing? It’s a National disgrace, but a Local problem. Close the hotels, fix the border, and prioritise Homes, Doctors, and School places for Northamptonshire families first.”

Asked whether councils have the power to close or reject new asylum hotels in the area, Mrs Ironside said: “Where [councils] have a legal responsibility, they must fulfil that legal responsibility.

“It is perfectly legitimate politics for a local council to kick up and say ‘we disagree with this and we don’t want this in our local area, or we’re being forced to do that because nasty Westminster is making us do that’.

“That is perfectly fair game in politics and the fact that there might be limited scope of action for Reform doesn’t matter. They will perfectly legitimately exploit it and kick up a fuss about it because that’s all part of a political debate.”

The Home Office is responsible for housing asylum seekers who would otherwise be homeless while their applications are processed. Local councils have no control over the use of hotels in their area and cannot decide which properties are used.

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf recently told the BBC that his party would use “every instrument of power available” to stop asylum seekers from being housed in their council areas, including judicial reviews, injunctions and planning laws.

Usual council meetings on a range of issues from licensing, planning, children’s services, and finance have started up again since the early May elections. The new Reform UK cabinet is expected to attend its first public meeting as a senior decision-making panel at One Angel Square in June.