When Nigel Farage celebrated his party’s massive victory in local elections in England on May 1, he was full of confidence about Reform UK’s plans to overhaul local councils. He promised to send in budget-cutting teams inspired by Elon Musk, to remove asylum seekers and civil servants focusing on climate change or diversity. He also warned those working from home to find new careers.
However, three weeks into their tenure across nine financially strapped councils in England, running £8 billion worth of public services, Farage’s promise of a “Reform-quake” has been limited to small symbolic actions, primarily targeting “woke” issues. For example, in Kent and Durham, two of the councils with significant debt, one of Reform’s initial actions was to take down solidarity flags for Ukraine and vowed against flying rainbow flags for the LGBTQ+ community, sparking silent protests. The party argues these actions are against “tokenism” rather than being anti-gay.
Despite winning a historic 677 council seats and gaining control over areas representing about 8.3 million people, one in seven of England’s population, the reality of Reform UK’s agenda and its impact is yet to be fully seen. Farage’s promises to dismantle low-traffic neighborhoods and to sack diversity staff have not materialized, mainly because the councils lack such measures or have very few diversity roles. Also, the new council leaders, many being newcomers to political office, have been vague about their plans to save money from already significantly cut budgets.
Critics and residents are concerned that Reform UK will target cuts to special educational needs and disabilities (Send) budgets, following Farage’s claims of over-diagnosis of such conditions. Further, some elected members are already distancing themselves from Farage’s aggressive agenda, indicating a possible disconnect between rhetoric and reality.
The impact of Reform UK’s governance remains uncertain, with some predicting they could face “special measures” within six months due to their lack of experience and potential insensitivity to community needs.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/24/posturing-farages-reform-quake-so-far-limited-to-small-acts-of-war-on-woke
