‘Fair fights and nasty comments!’ Re-elected Donington Reform UK councilor Jane King says the people have proven Lincolnshire wants change

A re-elected Reform councillor believes last night’s county results prove residents want change.

Jane King raised plenty of eyebrows across South Holland and beyond when she was announced as one of five independent district representatives who defected to Reform in March, a move she finally agreed to after a heart-to-heart with family members.

But after holding her Donington Rural seat for the first time under a party banner last night, Coun King now finds herself a member of Lincolnshire’s controlling group.

“It’s mindblowing and shows people want a change,” said Coun King, who suggested cocking a snook to the status quo was perhaps what many people wanted after admitting ‘I don’t necessarily think everybody agrees with everything Reform does’.

“This has shown people are disenchanted with politics. They’re obviously thinking ‘we want change and want to see something different’.

“We need to get on and do the job as well as we possibly can as the people who voted for us are the important ones.”

Now the votes have been counted and the dust settled, Coun King finds herself an elected Reform representative, although until recently it may have been something few including herself would have suspected.

“It took a lot for me to change over. I did not take it lightly and anyone who knows me knows that,” she said.

“I can’t speak for the other South Holland independents who changed but, honestly, it was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve made in a long, long time.

“I had a lot of support out there, people saying ‘we’ve seen what you’ve done for us in the past and that’s good enough for us’, which is lovely to hear.

“I would like to add that I’m very, very grateful for all the support that people out there has shown me.

“Also, I’ve always had the backing of both my kids, my son Dan and my daughter Jess have been absolutely brilliant.

“They were both concerned when I spoke to them about changing over. They’ve been open and honest with their thoughts, but the bottom line was ‘we’ll support you mum in anything you do’, and I’m immensely proud of my kids.”

Although now going as far as Reform’s newly-elected Greater Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns and wearing a ‘Smear campaign Survivor’ T-shirt, Coun King admitted there were ‘nasty comments flying around’ in the build-up to election day.

But one person who refrained from the slurs was her greatest threat to retaining her seat, Conservative candidate and fellow district councillor Henry Bingham.

“I’ve worked happily with Coun Bingham the entire time he’s been a councillor,” she stated.

“We didn’t a fall out over anything, we still had our normal banter even though I changed (parties) and we had a very nice, clean fight, if that’s not a contradiction in terms.

“I’m very grateful for that.”

While there may be a new controlling power at Newland, for Coun King the important task is to continue delivering the best she can for her division, which she also represnts at district and parish level.

“I’m amazed and want to thank everyone who supported me and managed to help me do this,” she added.

“I’m happy to retain my seat, but I didn’t move over for that reason. There’s a lot of projects I want to continue doing and I’m hoping this will help me to continue.

“You get voted in because residents put their trust in you.

“It’s a case of getting back to the job, and if you work with someone it makes the job easier. Politics shouldn’t come into helping residents.

“It should never be a competition, them or us, or points scoring, when it comes to helping people.”