Reform takes control of Nottinghamshire County Council

Reform UK has gained control of Nottinghamshire County Council, taking over from the Conservatives.

The party secured 40 of the council's 66 seats, having needed 34 for an overall majority.

The Conservatives now sit in second place with 17 seats, and Labour in third with four seats.

A full picture will be confirmed in June when the two remaining seats are set to be contested in a by-election, following the death of Mansfield North candidate Karen Seymour.

Reform had only ever been represented by one councillor in Nottinghamshire before Friday, Dr John Doddy, who was expelled from the Conservatives in 2024, standing against them in the general election.

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Outgoing Nottinghamshire County Council leader Sam Smith retained his seat in the Newark East ward.

However, Kate Foale, leader of the county's Labour group, lost her seat to Broxtowe Alliance candidate Teresa Cullen, who defected from the party in January.

Ashfield Independent leader Jason Zadrozny - the leader of the main opposition group on the council - also lost his seat.

His party now have only one seat.

Dr Doddy told the BBC that Reform was going to do things "differently".

He said: "We're looking at how to use taxpayers' money better and that's what people say to me - they don't understand where all the money is going and their services are going down and the money they're paying is going up and they can't put that together.

"That's where the common sense comes in."

By Hugh Casswell, BBC Nottingham political reporter

Coming into today, most parties and candidates I spoke to expected Reform UK to gain a decent number of seats in Nottinghamshire, perhaps enough to be the junior partners in some form of coalition with the Conservatives.

But they've smashed all those expectations and ended up not just in control of the council, but with what looks like a comfortable majority.

It's striking that they seem to have taken seats from the Tories and Labour alike, as well as very nearly wiping the Ashfield Independents off the map in what is now not just a surprising but convincing victory.

There is still the small matter of who will be the council's leader.

As Reform's only incumbent, de facto spokesperson John Doddy told me there will be a "democratic process" among the party's councillors within the next 24 hours.

When I asked if he wants the job himself, he told me: "If the ball comes loose from the back of the scrum, you'd be tempted to pick it up and run for the line."

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