The rise of Reform: Party takes Doncaster Council

Reform has surged to an overall majority on the City of Doncaster Council, making the party the main opposition to Mayor Ros Jones and her cabinet.

Reform won 37 seats compared to Labour's 12 and the Conservatives' six in the election held on Thursday.

Labour's Ros Jones still clinched the mayoral election victory with 23,805 votes, though she was barely ahead of Reform's candidate Alexander Jones, who received 23,107.

Chairman of Doncaster Reform UK, Irwen Martin, said: "We've certainly started a tidal wave going through Doncaster."

Indeed, the party's surge in support is evident across the country, highlighted by its first parliamentary by-election win in Runcorn and Helsby and former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns getting 42% of the vote in Greater Lincolnshire.

The right-wing populist party, founded in 2016 as the Brexit Party, has been actively expanding its presence in South Yorkshire and established a Doncaster branch in September last year.

During the general election, Reform finished second in 10 Yorkshire seats - a success party leader Nigel Farage had hoped to build on during the 2025 mayoral elections.

The party previously struggled to seriously challenge Ros Jones' position, with their candidate Surjit Singh Duhre receiving just over 1,000 votes during the 2021 election.

Seven of the nine Labour councillors who had previously served in Mayor Ros Jones' cabinet lost their seats – including Nigel and Lani-Mae Ball who, along with new candidate Dawn Lawrence, lost to Reform in Conisbrough.

Mr Martin said the political transformation in South Yorkshire, from Labour's "Red Wall" to an increase in Conservative and Reform support signalled widespread discontent.

He told the BBC: "I think a lot of people thought Reform was here and would then disappear. We are here to stay.

"Very normal people want to be part of it because they are tired of a two-party system that bends the truth."

Speaking to residents in Doncaster about how they voted, it was a mix of views.

David Townsend told the BBC he voted for Reform.

He said: "Because I believe they have got a better vision for this country going forward."

Patricia Brady, 69, also voted for Reform and said: "Because the immigrants coming into this country is ridiculous.

"We've got old people that are gong hungry and starving and the bills they're paying it's unreal."

Les Philips, 81, voted for Labour because he thinks Ms Jones will get Doncaster Sheffield Airport open again.

"It was very close because I thought that Nigel Farage is doing really well - so it was a toss up," he said.

However, due to the City of Doncaster Council's directly elected mayoral model, Reform UK's majority will give them little power – instead, they will settle for an opposition role, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Mayor of Doncaster – Ros Jones, Labour – and her cabinet make around 95% of key decisions, minimising the role Reform councillors will play.

Mr Martin also hit out at comments made by Conservative candidate Nick Fletcher, who came third with 18,982 votes.

Mr Fletcher said the results were "extremely disappointing" and expressed concerns that the new composition of the council could lead to "bigger problems" for Doncaster.

Mr Martin said it did not matter who would sit on the council as everyone would have to "work together".

"It's not about a political party, it's about the people of Doncaster," he added.

Alexander Jones, who lost the mayoral race but won a seat on the council, said having been able to seriously challenge Labour's hold "says a lot about the popularity of our party".

This week's results will prompt all political parties to reflect on shifting tides of voter sentiment, with newly-elected mayor Ros Jones urging the government to "listen to the man, woman and businesses on the street".

MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, Lee Pitcher, agreed there were "lessons to learn" and it would be "silly" not to question Reform's success.

He added: "We'll take the learning, we'll move it forward but the fact is, we have won today, it's [been] successful and now it's about building on that going forward."

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