"They've had 3 leaders in 3 months"
Reform’s leadership of one of its councils has been so poor that it got a mention at PMQs earlier today.
After Reform took control of a number of councils last year, it has faced criticism for broken promises and a failure to deliver, including broken pledges not to raise council taxes.
It has also failed to ‘cut waste and expenditure’ as it had once boasted, after their rhetoric was met with the harsh realities of local government.
Now Staffordshire County Council which is run by Nigel Farage’s party has had its abysmal record called out in Parliament during PMQs.
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed that the county council now run by Reform which promised a new health centre to Burntwood must ensure there are no more broken promises to constituents, the Prime Minister replied: “I agree with him but sadly Reform’s leadership in Staffordshire is an absolute mess.
“They’ve had 3 leaders in 3 months, one was forced to step down for appalling racist comments and they’re simply not getting on with the job. He’s (Farage) is obviously proud of that, all you can count on for Reform is chaos and division.”
The Refom council in Staffordshire has been hit with a number of scandals. It’s previous leader Ian Cooper had to quit in December after HOPE not Hate uncovered racist comments.
In one post, he made reference to then foreign secretary David Lammy, which stated “no foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament”.
Hope not Hate has also uncovered racist posts from yet another Reform UK Staffordshire county councillor, Cllr Lynn Dean, aka “Cockney Rebel” on X.
In March 2023 she posted, “If Africans are the most intelligent race on the planet, why are they so backward?” and “Some black people, certainly not all, are delusional in their desire to get one over white people. I call it the Cleopatra effect.”
Back in 2022 she even replied to a now-deleted account with “Black people don’t want to be criticised for what their African ancestors did, but they sure as hell want to hold on to the chips on their shoulders.”
Staffordshire County Council is yet another example of how awful Reform are.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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