Reform UK takes aim at Middlesbrough Council in next round of local elections

Middlesbrough is almost half way through the four year cycle between local council elections for the unitary authority. The next set of elections are scheduled to take place in May 2027.

The inaugural constituency branch meeting for Reform UK was held on Wednesday January 29, branch chairman Patrick Seargeant explained that there was lots of enthusiasm and the event was “very well attended”. He added: “A lot of plans for the future were discussed in terms of growing the branch in the area, specifically in the constituency.”

Nationally, Reform UK have been polling at similar levels as the Conservatives and Labour, with the party recently coming top of numerous polls. Locally, both in Middlesbrough and averaged across Teesside, the party polls better than their nationwide position.

Mr Seargeant was asked about the potential of Reform UK being the party in power in Middlesbrough following the next set of local elections. He said: “Absolutely, if we could field two candidates for each seat we would! By 2027, there will be a Reform UK candidate in every single council ward in Middlesbrough Council and the same goes for Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland as well. We are recruiting now, that’s how serious we are about it.”

He confirmed that for wards where there are three councillors, the party would be fielding three candidates. In other words, all 46 seats in Middlesbrough council would have Reform candidates standing in them. The results page on the Middlesbrough Council website shows that in the 2023 local elections, no political party fielded candidates for every single seat.

“We have a very complicated vetting procedure as you can imagine, that was something during the [general] election that was a struggle for us… at the moment we are saying to our members, we are thinking about it now, we are recruiting now, we are shortlisting people so by the time the local election comes we are going to be fighting every corner, we will be everywhere,” Mr Seargeant explained.

He was asked specifically about MICA (Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association) councillors from across the town, some of whom have highlighted the same issues as Reform UK during their time as councillors, whilst others have specifically said that they are independents as they don’t want to be attached to a party and simply want to do what is best for their ward.

The question put to Reform’s branch chairman: what was his message for those MICA councillors? “I’d say just search your feelings, search your heart, at the moment, I can emphatically say that we are not here to make deals, we are here to win, if you want to work with Reform, you’ve got to be Reform, because there’s been a lot of interest with that – are we going to join with the Tories… no. I would say to any independent-minded councillors, have a think about it, you can clearly see where the momentum is going.”

“There’s going to be no informal arrangements, it’s Reform or nothing, as far as we are concerned.” He confirmed that there would be no deals with the Tories and no deals with MICA. “We joined Reform UK because we want Reform to win.”

Mr Seargeant would not be drawn on whether any MICA councillors (Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association) were in attendance at the inaugural meeting of the Middlesbrough and Thornaby East branch, held on Wednesday, January 31.

Mr Seargeant was Reform UK’s parliamentary candidate in last year’s general election. He finished in second place, knocking the Conservatives into third, with less than 1,000 votes between the two parties. Labour incumbent Andy McDonald held the seat with a reduced share of the vote, but the MP still garnered more support than the combined vote total of his three closest rivals.

When asked for more details about the meeting, Mr Seargeant said: “We had a lot of independent business owners there, that seems to be a big thing, I think a lot of business owners are starting to really get towards Reform, really resonate with our message.”

“A lot of local businesses are not very happy, especially those from more traditional industries are not happy with net zero… one of our flagship policies is reversing the net zero stuff – the environment matters, but that’s not the way to go about it.”

“Watch this space, we are going to be getting together a business forum, we are talking to lots of SMEs in the area, we’re listening to their concerns and we’re supporting them.” He also highlighted the need for regeneration, citing how the town centre “is not a pleasant place to be sometimes”.

The ongoing democratisation of Reform was discussed, he said: “Leadership of the branches is decided by the members” and added: “The party has gone so serious, the party organisation is so serious, since the [general] election, it’s been pretty much flat out, getting the party together, the structure together.”

It was highlighted that Reform didn’t have a candidate who stood in the Hemlington by-election in October 2024. Mr Seargeant confirmed that if there was a by-election announced in any local ward imminently, there would be a Reform candidate standing.

MICA group leader Councillor Mick Saunders responded on behalf of his group members. He said: “As far as I am aware no members of the MICA group attended Reform’s inaugural meeting last week. As far as doing deals with Reform or vice versa: we as a group of independent councillors listen to our residents who elected us within our wards where we also live and vote accordingly, unlike political parties whose members have to tow the party line and vote whatever the party whip states. Unfortunately, Reform is no different as look at the quote the Reform chair has made. ‘If you want to work with Reform, you’ve got to be Reform.’

“As far as the 2027 elections are concerned, two years is a long time away, as Independents we will be trying to get re-elected to fight on local ward issues and for a better Middlesbrough and not on national issues.”

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough’s Conservative leader Councillor David Coupe said that he had been responsible for setting up his party’s candidates in the 2023 local elections in Middlesbrough. He said: “It’s not an easy thing to do… It’s up to them [Reform], but I think they’ll struggle to get 46 good candidates” but he conceded that “I see them as a serious force, but you know, two and a bit years is a long time in politics. They might do very well.” He added: “Certainly at the moment, they would probably do extremely well.”

“It’s up to [Mr Seageant] if he doesn’t want to work with us”, Cllr Coupe outlined. “I wouldn’t stop anybody going into politics if that’s what they feel they want to do. And if they want to be there for the good of the town, and the good of their area, fine. Just see what happens.”

One of the MICA councillors, Ian Morrish said: “From a personal view, I don’t believe that national parties have the best interests for local areas. I’d rather concentrate on my own area, Marton West and Middlesbrough as a whole. I’m not really interested in what the national parties think, although it may affect our area, I’d rather fight for our area than nationally.”