New figures reveal how many formal enquiries West Northamptonshire councillors have submitted since Reform took control

The Chronicle & Echo submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to West Northamptonshire Council asking how many member enquiries councillors have submitted since Reform were elected in May 2025.

Member enquiries are formal requests submitted by councillors to council officers on behalf of residents, usually to investigate or resolve local issues.

This newspaper previously published an identical FOI which covered the period from May 6, 2025, to March 5, 2026.

The updated information covers the period from May 2025, when Reform UK took control of the council, to October 2026. We compared the new totals with those published in our previous investigation to identify how the recorded numbers had changed.

Independent councillor Julie Davenport, who represents Far Cotton, Delapre and Briar Hill, tops the list with 731 enquiries.

She said: “I’m always happy to help and I’m very happy to have the trust and the support of our amazing community.”

One resident from her area also praised the independent councillor, saying: "Julie is just brilliant - she’s the first name anyone ever mentions whenever anybody needs any help or support on our local Facebook group and always gets things done. In fact I don’t think many people know who the other councillors are for this area."

Reform UK council leader Mark Arnull is second, with 652, followed by Reform councillor Charlie Hastie, who has submitted 340.

The figures below show each councillor’s total and the change compared with the figures published in March.

A positive figure indicates an increase.

Full list of councillors and member enquiries

Julie Davenport – Independent (Far Cotton, Delapre and Briar Hill): 731 enquiries (+142)

Mark Arnull – Reform UK (Kingsthorpe North): 652 enquiries (+243)

Charlie Hastie – Reform UK (Woodford and Weedon): 340 enquiries (+120)

Richard Butler – Reform UK (Brackley): 263 enquiries (+101)

Laura Couse – Reform UK (Nene Valley): 197 enquiries (+57)

Ronald Firman – Reform UK (Hunsbury): 195 enquiries (+92)

Pinder Chauhan – Conservative (Hunsbury): 188 enquiries (+26)

Scott Packer – Reform UK (Talavera): 188 enquiries (+88)

Sally Keeble – Labour (Dallington Spencer): 180 enquiries (+65)

Hayley Adkins – Reform UK (Duston): 154 enquiries (+69)

Andrew Simpson – Liberal Democrat (Braunston and Crick): 146 enquiries (+46)

Ian McCord – Independent (Deanshanger and Paulerspury): 146 enquiries (+27)

Mark Deakes – Reform UK (Billing): 136 enquiries (+29)

John Slope – Reform UK (Moulton): 129 enquiries (+48)

Rufia Ashraf – Labour (Dallington Spencer): 126 enquiries (+15)

John East – Reform UK (Dallington Spencer): 123 enquiries (+28)

Nigel Stansfield – Reform UK (Parklands): 121 enquiries (N/A)

Daniel Lister – Conservative (Long Buckby): 115 enquiries (+15)

Adrian Cartwright – Reform UK (Headlands): 111 enquiries (+37)

Joanne Blythe – Independent (Headlands): 106 enquiries (+21)

Farzana Aldridge – Liberal Democrat (Kingsley and Semilong): 105 enquiries (+44)

Stephen Clarke – Conservative (Cogenhoe and The Houghtons): 103 enquiries (+15)

Phil Bignell – Conservative (Campion): 92 enquiries (+40)

Enam Haque – Labour (Castle): 88 enquiries (+31)

Christine Ware – Liberal Democrat (Naseby): 82 enquiries (+8)

Silas Hays – Reform UK (Billing): 81 enquiries (+25)

Vincent Clive – Reform UK (Duston): 75 enquiries (+23)

Rosie Humphreys – Liberal Democrat (Braunston and Crick): 72 enquiries (+17)

Kathryn Shaw – Independent (Upton): 65 enquiries (+10)

Zoe Smith – Labour (Abington and Phippsville): 65 enquiries (+26)

David Gaskell – Reform UK (Kingsthorpe South): 63 enquiries (+13)

Bob Purser – Labour (Abington and Phippsville): 62 enquiries (+9)

Fiona Cole – Conservative (Hackleton and Roade): 62 enquiries (+8)

Michael Stratton – Reform UK (Upton): 56 enquiries (+39)

Jonathan Harris – Liberal Democrat (Brixworth): 51 enquiries (+15)

David Tarbun – Liberal Democrat (Towcester): 49 enquiries (+8)

Fiona Baker – Conservative (Brackley): 46 enquiries (+17)

Keith Holland-Delamere – Labour (Blackthorn and Rectory Farm): 44 enquiries (+7)

Susan Gaskell – Reform UK (Moulton): 44 enquiries (+2)

Alexander McMurtry – Reform UK (Daventry South): 41 enquiries (+10)

Cecile Irving-Swift – Conservative (Rural North East): 38 enquiries (+8)

Richard Pipes – Reform UK (Daventry North West): 38 enquiries (No change)

Peter York – Reform UK (Moulton): 34 enquiries (+13)

Stewart Tolley – Liberal Democrat (Towcester): 33 enquiries (+11)

Craig Morris – Reform UK (Nene Valley): 31 enquiries (+24)

Adrian Little – Reform UK (Towcester): 30 enquiries (+12)

Caroline Phillips – Reform UK (Kingsthorpe South): 30 enquiries (+3)

Kamala Guliyeva – Reform UK (Daventry South): 30 enquiries (+6)

Peter Matten – Conservative (Daventry North East): 28 enquiries (+7)

Charles Manners – Conservative (Rural South Northamptonshire): 27 enquiries (+2)

Rosie Herring – Conservative (Middleton Cheney): 26 enquiries (+7)

Fartun Ismail – Labour (Castle): 24 enquiries (+13)

Rupert Frost – Conservative (Woodford and Weedon): 24 enquiries (+16)

Trefor Hughes – Reform UK (Nene Valley): 24 enquiries (+11)

Alison Eastwood – Conservative (Rural South Northamptonshire): 22 enquiries

Anthony Lock – Reform UK (Daventry South): 22 enquiries (+4)

David Smith – Conservative (Rural South Northamptonshire): 22 enquiries (+6)

Debra King – Reform UK (Campion): 21 enquiries (+4)

Stephen Hibbert – Conservative (Weston Favell and Abington Vale): 19 enquiries (+9)

James Petter – Reform UK (Far Cotton, Delapre and Briar Hill): 18 enquiries

Nigel Berrill – Reform UK (Kingsthorpe North): 18 enquiries (+10)

Andrew Kilbride – Conservative (Weston Favell and Abington Vale): 15 enquiries (+8)

Cameron Emery – Reform UK (Headlands): 15 enquiries (+4)

Anthony Owens – Reform UK (Far Cotton, Delapre and Briar Hill): 14 enquiries (+4)

Thomas Manning – Reform UK (Talavera): 12 enquiries (+2)

Glenn Butcher – Reform UK (Hunsbury): 11 enquiries

Laura Weston – Reform UK (Hackleton and Roade): 9 enquiries (elected in May 2026)

Charles Morton – Conservative (Long Buckby): 8 enquiries (+3)

Daniel Rainbird – Reform UK (Kingsthorpe North): 7 enquiries (No change)

Andrew Last – Reform UK (Brackley), Cabinet Member for HR, Corporate Services and Regulatory Services: 3 enquiries (N/A)

Ivan Dabbs – Reform UK (Deanshanger and Paulerspury): 3 enquiries (+2)

Jeffrey Johnson – Reform UK (Blackthorn and Rectory Farm): 2 enquiries (no change)

Muna Cali – Labour (Castle): 2 enquiries (+1)

Nicholas Humphries – Reform UK (Kingsley and Semilong): 2 enquiries (no change)

Rebecca Breese – Conservative (Middleton Cheney): 2 enquiries (no change)

Jasmine Rainbird – Reform UK (Duston): 1 enquiry (No change)

The Chronicle & Echo fully understands that members’ enquiries are only one metric of a councillor’s role in the community. It is one metric and is published as such as information for residents of West Northamptonshire.

The updated figures show that several senior Reform UK councillors have recorded substantial increases since the previous investigation.

Councillor Arnull’s total has risen by 243, while Charlie Hastie’s has increased by 120. Richard Butler has recorded 101 more enquiries, Ronald Firman 92 more and Scott Packer 88 more.

The Chronicle & Echo asked all party leaders for their response to the figures for context and understanding of the figures presented.

In response to this request, Councillor Arnull criticised Chronicle & Echo for submitting the FOI – and says it’s not a league table.

Councillor Arnull said: “This is essentially a rerun of a story we have already had. It was not much of a story then, and refreshing the spreadsheet does not magically make it journalism now.

"Member enquiries are not a league table of councillor performance. Councillors deal with residents through emails, telephone calls, surgeries, meetings, direct contact with officers and countless pieces of casework that never enter this particular system. Pretending one administrative route tells you whether a councillor is ‘doing enough’ is superficial and the data simply does not support that conclusion.

"Perhaps the more worthwhile investigation would be into how much officer time and taxpayers’ money is spent answering repeated or low-value FOI requests whose apparent purpose is to manufacture another newspaper ranking. With councils under enormous financial pressure, taxpayers might reasonably wonder whether repeatedly servicing this sort of exercise represents good use of scarce public resources.

"For me, I am interested in whether my councillors get results for the people they represent, not where they sit in a league table invented by a newspaper. Residents deserve representation. They do not need politics reduced to a spreadsheet simply because a reporter needs a story.”

Labour group leader Sally Keeble said the number of formal enquiries was only one part of a councillor’s workload.

She said: “The Local Government Association has found that councillors spend an average 22 hours a week on their council duties. That includes all meetings, contact with residents and casework. Councillors in executive positions are paid for doing what is essentially a full time job and have administrative support, so their position is very different. How councillors fulfill their roles varies, and the way they report on issues in their wards also varies. Some councillors have a particular ability to do community work with residents, some use the council’s app to report environmental problems, some are assiduous in attending meetings and events and raise issues there. The Labour Group works as a team, individual members have strengths in different areas of council work, working together to deliver the best for the people we represent and for the wider West Northants community.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Jonathan Harris said: “Members Enquires is a singular measure of activity - it doesn’t measure outcomes, results or any other form of community activity and support which I know first-hand happens on an ongoing basis with all Liberal Democrat Councillors, often through working very closely with their relevant parish councils.

“The Liberal Democrat group also work as a collective, which means that some of us who have been councillors for longer are able to advise and point newer councillors in the right direction, providing direct advice to resolve issues or provide direct reference to appropriate officers. Direct contact with officers is not logged through this system and is often much more effective in getting resolutions to resident issues or queries. Furthermore, on occasion, issues can also be resolved without the need to engage with the council.

“I would expect to see higher numbers for cabinet members as often residents write directly to them in their specific capacity and I would imagine that cabinet members forward the query straight into the Enquiry System.

“The role of a councillor is extremely wide and varied and Enquiries raised is a small part of the entire role.”

Conservative group leader cllr Dan Lister said: “I would not judge anyone on one measure alone. The figures measure one thing: how often councillors use the formal member enquiry system. They do not measure how much work a councillor does. A councillor who spends weeks on a planning matter, sits on several committees or resolves a problem with a single call to an officer will not show up on this count at all. Members also work in different ways. Some residents are better served by a councillor who takes an issue straight to the service than by a formal enquiry that joins a queue. A raw count therefore rewards one style of working over others.

“Experience matters here too. Many councillors who have served for years know the council well enough to deal with a query themselves, without involving an officer and without logging an enquiry. That is an effective use of their knowledge. It means a low count can reflect a councillor who needs less help from the system, rather than one who does less for residents.”A West Northamptonshire Council spokeswoman said: “The Council does not assess individual councillors’ performance, and the number of enquiries submitted through the centralised member enquiry process should not be taken as a measure of how active or effective a councillor is. These figures reflect only enquiries submitted through that specific route.

“Councillors support residents in a variety of ways. While some use the central enquiry system frequently, others work directly with officers, residents, Cabinet members, Town and Parish Councils, or through other meetings and forums. More experienced members may also be able to resolve issues without submitting formal enquiries. Casework levels can also vary significantly between wards.

“As a result, there can be considerable differences in the number of recorded member enquiries, which do not necessarily reflect the amount of work undertaken by an individual councillor. A figure of two, 300 or zero formal member enquiries cannot, in isolation, provide a meaningful assessment of a councillor's overall engagement with residents or the wider work they undertake as an elected representative. The Council does not record or monitor the full extent of councillors’ engagement with constituents. Councillors are democratically elected office-holders, not employees of the Council, and are accountable ultimately to the electorate for how they discharge their representative role. Where concerns are raised about a councillor’s ability to carry out their role, the Council would seek to understand the circumstances and identify any support that may be required.

“Although there are statutory attendance requirements for councillors, attendance at formal meetings is only one aspect of the role, alongside constituency casework, community engagement and representing the interests of their ward. The Council administers the statutory framework for elected members, while any changes to national arrangements for assessing councillor activity or accountability are matters for Government and Parliament.”