Reform UK in Kirklees has suffered a double blow after defeat in the Almondbury by-election and the suspension of one of its councillors.
Reform saw its vote halved in Almondbury in just three months while on the same day it was revealed that Colne Valley West councillor Dave Rowan had been suspended by the party over an ‘offensive’ tweet.
In a post on X from 2019, Clr Rowan appeared to write “Hang the Dwarf” in relation to a post about then Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.
Also in 2019, before he was a councillor, Mr Rowan appeared to post homophobic and Islamophobic statements.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Clr Rowan has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats defeated Reform UK in the Almondbury by-election with Lib Dem leader Clr Anthony Smith saying it could prove a “turning point.”
Clr Smith said Reform UK’s Graham Haigh seemed confident of victory on election day but then failed to stay for the result to be announced when it was clear he’d been beaten.
Former Lib Dem councillor Paola Davies, who lost her Almondbury seat to Reform in May, was returned to the council chamber with a 671 majority over Mr Haigh.
Mr Haigh was also embroiled in controversy during the campaign when it was claimed he attended a march by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.
Responding on Facebook, Mr Haigh appeared to confirm he attended the march and said he would “like to put on record that he (Mr Haigh) gained a great deal of support because of the march and actually appreciated the advertising gained” from a social media post published by opponents.
Mr Haigh previously appeared to say in a social media post he attended the march to “support freedom of speech” and denied he was racist or Islamophobic.
In May the Lib Dems lost all three Almondbury seats to Reform but within weeks Craig Wiles resigned on health grounds.
After a period of uncertainty with no council leader in place, Reform took control of the council on July 15 and Thursday’s by-election was an early test of voters’ sentiment towards Reform.
While Clr Davies’ vote held up – she polled 1,755 in May and 1,749 in the by-election – Reform’s vote was halved.
Mr Haigh received 1,078 votes on Thursday but all three Reform councillors topped 2,000 votes each in May.
Lib Dem leader Clr Smith (Lindley) said: “This could be a turning point once the people of Kirklees have actually seen what Reform are about and what they actually can and can’t do.
“I have hope that at the next election there will be a further reduction in the Reform numbers.”
Reform currently has 27 seats and is the biggest party and there will be another election in May 2027 where a third of councillors will be up for re-election. That could change the balance of power again.
Kirklees Council confirmed Clr Rowan remains a councillor despite his suspension by the national party.
He was still listed as a Reform councillor on the Kirklees website and council leader Clr Sarah Wood was asked to respond but her email out-of-office reply said she was on holiday until August 18.
Huddersfield Hub asked deputy leader Clr Mark Smith to respond instead. In a statement he said: “Clr Dave Rowan was formally suspended by Reform UK HQ on Monday of this week following information supplied to them from ‘media’ sources.
“This information concerns alleged comments made by Clr Rowan several years ago at a time he was not serving as an elected councillor.
“He remains suspended pending investigation and as such, it would be wrong for me to comment further.”
Apart from Mr Wiles stepping down, Reform also lost Liversedge & Gomersal councillor Susan Maxfield (above right, with Clr Wood) in July when she quit the party to become an independent.
Deputy leader Christine Smith (Dalton) stepped down from the post for personal reasons while group business manager Clr Tracey Clayton (Colne Valley West) resigned from her role amid claims about comments she allegedly made on social media.
The Reform group said Clr Clayton had stepped down to concentrate on ward work and helping local residents.
Returning to the by-election result, Clr Smith welcomed Clr Davies back onto the council and said her success showed a clear rejection of Reform and “one dimensional, negative politics.”
He said May’s all-out council elections had been fought by Reform on “Get Starmer out” – and now Prime Minister Starmer had gone. “And you can’t just talk about the boats all the time,” he added.
Clr Smith admitted it was a “better result than we expected” and said: “I bumped into Graham Haigh on Thursday and he was convinced he was going to win.
“But later the candidate and his team didn’t have the good grace to stick around for the result to be declared and thank the other candidates. Reform are going to have to get used to losing.”
Clr Smith said the by-election result made no difference to the balance of power in the council chamber but “we will take every small victory.”
He added: “I think the result should cause Reform to pause and reflect.”
In a statement on the by-election result, Clr Wood thanked Mr Haigh for conducting a “positive campaign focused on local issues.”
She added: “By-elections are often shaped by local circumstances and we fully respect the decision made by the people of Almondbury ward.
“Our focus now returns to the work of leading Kirklees Council. We remain committed to delivering on the priorities residents elected us to pursue and to providing stable, transparent and effective leadership for the whole borough.
“We will continue listening to residents, learning from every election and working hard to earn the confidence of communities across Kirklees.”
Reform UK Huddersfield posted on Facebook: “Congratulations to the winner but be in no doubt. The scrutiny we will exert from this day forward, from the Reform UK Huddersfield branch, will be relentless.”
A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said: “We are aware that Clr Rowan is currently suspended from the Reform UK group but remains a Kirklees councillor.”
Clr Rowan did not respond to our request for comment.
The full by-election result was:
The voter turn-out in Almondbury in May was 41%. In the by-election it was 29.5%.
