r/ukpolitics

I’ve been tracking the news since the local elections a couple of weeks ago because there’s been a load of noise about vetting failures. The actual numbers of people who have already resigned, been suspended, or jumped ship since May 7th is a proper mess.

Reform UK have lost 22 councillors already. Five completely resigned and walked away from their seats—including Stuart Prior in Essex over old social media posts, Stephen Mousdell in St Helens over his past adult film work, and Danielle Cavanagh in Gateshead over business commitments. Two others in Durham quit the party to become independents because of local infighting, and another 15 have been suspended by the party management (mostly for stuff dug up on their Twitter/X accounts right after they won).

The Greens have lost 6, all in London. Three of them (in Hackney, Camden, and Haringey) had to resign immediately because they are local school teachers, which apparently legally disqualifies you from being a councillor in the borough that employs you. Two others in Ealing and Lambeth quit due to sudden health issues, and one was suspended over social media posts.

Labour and the Tories have barely been touched. One Tory in Hillingdon defected to become an independent after 11 days, one Labour councillor in Hastings went independent to protest Starmer, and a Labour leader in Newcastle-under-Lyme quit the leadership role but kept his seat.

A lot of the full resignations mean local taxpayers are now footed with the bill for immediate by-elections to fill the empty seats.

Honestly, does seeing this immediate fallout change how you view these parties? If you voted for them, would this make you change your vote next time around?