Reform Council win turns to chaos in Cornwall

I know whenever I come back here next,” Nigel Farage told a crowd of hundreds in Redruth in February, “Reform UK will become a dominant force, not just in Cornwall politics, but in British politics.”

- Jamie Grierson

When the local elections arrived three months later it appeared that Farage's prophecy was in part coming true - Reform took 28 seats on Cornwall council, the highest number of any party. But during his speech at Carn Brea leisure centre, Farage also warned his rapturous supporters “we have to convert theory into reality” - and reality in Cornwall is now biting.

Six months on from the local elections - after which Reform was unable to form an administration, leaving the Liberal Democrats and independents to set up a ruling coalition - the party's presence in the county is in disarray following weeks of resignations.

Critics say that along with the chaos in the Reform-led council of Kent, the farcical scenes in Cornwall, where Reform acts as the official opposition, are further evidence the party is not capable of delivering beyond a protest vote.

Two key figures involved in the fiasco said interference from national figures in the party was in part behind their decision to stand down and could also be blamed for some of the infighting that has brought Reform into disrepute.

Rowland O'Connor, a seasoned figure in the party who won 16.5% of the vote in North Cornwall in last year's general election, was the first to stand down last month - not only stepping down as deputy leader of the Reform group in Cornwall but from Reform itself.