Reform surge to second in council election

The Conservatives will remain the biggest party on Northumberland County Council following the local elections, but Reform UK came a close second.

The authority remains under no overall control but will have 26 Conservative councillors - 10 fewer than previously.

Reform has 23 seats, having previously had none, with Labour taking eight - a loss of 12.

Independents won seven seats, with the Liberal Democrats securing three and Greens two.

The authority has been run by the Conservatives since 2017 having changed hands a number of times.

They are now left facing the prospect of working with Reform or forming a coalition with a combination of other groups.

Council leader Glen Sanderson said a meeting with members was planned for the weekend, after which discussions would take place with other parties.

The long-serving Tory councillor said people in Northumberland had grown frustrated with the two main parties due to political failings at national level.

"I think this is a protest vote," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, "and that this has been the way a number of people in Northumberland have expressed their feeling hacked off with national politicians of all parties.

"They are angry at all the parties and the politicians.

"We will look to work with others where we can. Given the national issues with all the major parties, I am really proud of my group and the way they won their seats."

Mark Peart, elected to the Croft ward for Reform UK, said: "I'm over the moon. The people want Reform, it is time for change."

Surprise gains by Labour from the Conservatives in Pegswood and Haltwhistle were the only bright spots on what was a dismal night for the party.

Scott Dickinson, Labour's leader in the county, retained his Druridge Bay ward, comfortably fending off the challenge of former Berwick MP and cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

He said: "It's been a very disappointing night. Lots of good, long-standing people have lost their seats.

"It is very disappointing they have lost seats to a protest vote."

Reform UK leader and MP Nigel Farage visited County Durham to celebrate his party taking control of the county council there.

He used a speech to praise his candidates' strong performance in north-east England and said Reform had "frightened the life out of the governing Conservatives" in Northumberland.

Elsewhere, Labour has retained the mayoralty of North Tyneside after beating Reform UK by a thin margin of just 444 votes.

The Conservatives will be the biggest party on Northumberland County Council, but Reform UK are the big winners from this result.

Reform end the night with 23 councillors having taken a raft of seats from the Tories and even more from Labour.

The mood among Labour activists here is shock and gloom. Among Reform supporters, it was glee.

But it now probably falls to the Tories to build a coalition to run the council, possibly with the help of independents.

It won't be easy, but either way the last 36 hours have marked a big moment in the county's politics.

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