Reform rise mean South Holland’s Conservative-controlled council must ‘listen to our residents’, says top Tory
South Holland’s Conservative-controlled district council must ‘be aware of the politics around’ or risk ceding further power to Reform UK, a top Tory has said.
Gary Taylor, SHDC’s current portfolio holder for community development and former deputy leader, made the stark warning after seeing his party lose control of Lincolnshire County Council.
While Coun Taylor backed the ‘strong leadership’ of Nick Worth at Priory Road, he added that local politicians can no-longer shrug off Reform UK as a protest party.
“We have to listen to the voters, democracy is never wrong,” said Coun Taylor, the only Tory to hold their county seat across South Holland, East Lindsey and Boston Borough, every other seat in the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership turning turquoise.
With Reform lauding themselves as the people’s party, Coun Taylor added the Tories must reassure voters they are here to look after their best interests.
“We must listen to our residents as we are not here to represent the council but to represent our residents,” he added.
“We need to take stock and really mix in our community at times and understand a bit better.
“But I believe at the district council there is strong leadership. We’ve got strong priorities and commitments.
“But we do need to be aware of the politics around us and what made it work (for Reform at the county elections).”
South Holland District Council’s Conservatives narrowly held on to power at the 2023 district election, when they edged out the independents by one seat, winning 19 of the 37 available.
Since then the Tory majority has edged further ahead with Glynis Scalese winning the St Paul’s ward by-election and five independents - Jane King, Manzur Hasan, Ingrid Sheard, Thomas Sneath and Rob Gibson - defecting to Reform.
But there is no doubt that Reform remains on the rise, this hammered home by their power grab at the county council, plus Andrea Jenkyns becoming Greater Lincolnshire’s first mayor with 42% of the votes.
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