Reform UK expected to take charge of Leicestershire County Council as coalition talks end

Leicestershire County Council will be run by Reform UK after the Conservatives set out their position as a “strong opposition” on the authority.

The local elections this week saw huge losses for the Conservative Party and huge gains for Reform UK both in Leicestershire and across the country.

The local results saw the Tories drop from the 42 seats out of 55 they had won in 2021 to just 15 seats on Friday (May 2). Reform UK stormed ahead to take 25 seats – but still fell short of an overall majority.

This left questions over who would be leading Leicestershire County Council at Glenfield’s County Hall for the coming years. Would the Conservatives join forces with other parties to keep control of the authority as part of a coalition Government, or would they take up a position as the main opposition group?

A statement has now been released by former acting leader of the council Deborah Taylor, who has confirmed it will be the latter of those options. Coun Taylor said in a post on Facebook: “We see that people want change and they have voted for the majority group of Reform UK to be in charge at Leicestershire County Council.

“We [the Conservative Group] have decided this morning that we will be a strong opposition to them. We will hold them to account and make sure they abide by their promises […] and do the best we can for the people of Leicestershire.”

Leicestershire’s Liberal Democrat group has also confirmed it is not willing to join forces with Reform UK. As such, Reform is expected to continue into the new council term as a minority ruling party.

Reform said its new councillors have now met for the first time at County Hall. Councillor for Whitwick Joseph Boam said: “It is a huge honour to have been elected onto the county council. I’m looking forward to delivering for the people of Whitwick and Leicestershire.

“Let’s not forget the sheer importance of what has happened here. From a standing start we are now the largest party in Leicestershire County Council. The message from local residents is clear: they want change, and Reform UK will deliver that.”