Reform's local politics and the rise of the ‘Loony Right’

Farage's party is bringing Maga energy to town halls, says Sean O'Grady. That includes the kind of antics last seen under some left-wing Labour councils of the 1980s

- By Sean O'Grady

A Reform county council leader has banned his councillors from speaking to the main area newspaper and broadcasters, including reporters working under the BBC-funded local democracy scheme. Council officials have even been ordered not to send out press releases to them.

Mick Barton, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, is reportedly displeased with the way the Nottingham Post and its digital emanation, NottinghamshireLive, have reported on local government reorganisation in the area and on disagreements among the Reform UK caucus. The measures have provoked widespread concern...

Are we witnessing the emergence of the Loony Right?

Quite possibly. Just as the more eccentric actions of some Labour-controlled councils back in the 1980s earned them the “Loony Left” label, damaging the image of the party at a national level, so the antics of the 12 local councils now controlled by Reform UK are attracting similar adverse attention.