The people were warned:
Reform UK’s attempt to run one of its flagship councils is descending into mounting political turmoil, with three councillors quitting the party amid allegations of bullying, internal chaos and a serious safeguarding concern — while questions are also being raised over the authority’s financial management.
Three Reform councillors at Durham County Council – Lyndsey Fox, Paul Sexton and Nicole Brown – have resigned from the party, bringing Reform increasingly close to losing its majority.
Reform swept to power at Durham in the May 2025 local elections, winning 65 of the council’s 98 seats. Since then, however, a succession of resignations, suspensions and defections has steadily eaten into that commanding majority. Sky News reported that 16 Reform councillors had left the party for various reasons since the election.
The latest departures are particularly damaging because of what councillor Lyndsey Fox says prompted her resignation.
Fox said she raised what she described as a “serious safeguarding issue” in July but had subsequently “heard nothing” from Reform’s leadership about how the matter was being dealt with.
She told Sky News that she had subsequently reported the matter to police and the Police and Crime Commissioner and that there was an active police investigation. She has therefore declined to disclose the underlying details publicly.
But Fox’s criticism concerns not the police investigation itself, but what she says happened inside Reform after she raised the concern.
She said other people within the party were “very, very upset and unhappy” but were “terrified” of speaking to its leadership.
Her comments came after a Sky News investigation into allegations of bullying, infighting and dysfunction within the Reform-run authority.
The political instability is accompanied by serious questions about the council’s finances.
A report highlighted by the Liberal Democrats indicated that as much as £90.9 million of capital expenditure had been “reprofiled” into later financial years, with the party claiming this would reduce forecast spending in 2026/27 by £70.27 million.
Reprofiling does not automatically mean money has disappeared or that a council is technically bankrupt — projects can legitimately be moved between financial years because their timetables change. But on a council already facing political upheaval, such a substantial alteration to planned capital spending inevitably raises questions about delivery, planning and financial oversight.
Durham’s own constitutional documents confirm that the authority has 98 councillors following the 2025 boundary changes.
For Reform, however, the problem is larger than a single council.
The party has rapidly expanded its representation across Britain, but governing councils requires more than winning elections. It requires stable groups, competent administration, functioning scrutiny, financial discipline and effective safeguarding arrangements.
Durham is now providing a very public test of whether Reform can make that transition.
Reform has rejected the criticism. A party spokesperson described the Sky News reporting as “misleading and malicious”, arguing that it relied on the testimony of former Reform councillors who had themselves been suspended for alleged bullying or employing illegal workers.
The party has been approached for further comment on the latest resignations.
Meanwhile, Reform’s difficulties have spread beyond England. In Wales, party leader Dan Thomas stepped down after being arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. He was subsequently released without charge and has denied wrongdoing.
Taken together, the developments leave Reform facing an increasingly uncomfortable question: can a party that has made rapid electoral gains demonstrate the organisation, stability and administrative competence required to govern effectively once the campaign slogans are replaced by the realities of running public services and public finances?
