Following the shambles of Kent County Council, Cornwall has become the next domino.
Leaked Video Reveals Reform UK’s ‘Flagship’ Kent Council At War With Each Other
Exposed: Reform Staffer Reveals That Kent’s Reform UK Council Are “All Wankers”
By any measure, Reform UK in Cornwall has gone from promise to parody in record time. What was once billed as a fresh voice for ordinary people fed up with Westminster arrogance has turned into something painfully familiar — a party that looks after itself first, last and always.
Last week’s public row in a Dobwalls pub, complete with shouting, insults and children looking on, was not just embarrassing. It was revealing. The leaked recording from The Highwayman laid bare a party tearing itself apart — and a grassroots movement now disgusted by what it sees.
One angry supporter in the recording said it best:
“Look after the people who voted for Reform UK instead of yourselves.”
That single sentence cuts to the heart of the problem. Reform UK’s leadership in Cornwall and across those places that voted them in has stopped listening. The party’s councillors appear more concerned with controlling Facebook pages, branch titles and personal influence than delivering for the people who trusted them with their votes.
A Movement Consumed by Ego
When Reform first arrived in Cornwall, it promised to do politics differently — to put local voices first, cut through bureaucracy and give power back to communities. Instead, it has become a case study in how quickly self-styled “outsiders” can lose their way.
At last count, five councillors had resigned in a single month, including the party’s former leader at Cornwall Council, Cllr Rob Parsonage. That exodus has ended Reform’s status as the largest group on the council and left the party trailing behind the Liberal Democrats.
This is not the mark of a serious movement. It’s the mark of a group that cannot get its own house in order because too many of its members are fighting for position rather than purpose.
The People Left Behind
Cornish voters were told Reform would stand up for them against a distant establishment. But many now feel abandoned by a party that seems to view politics as a private game. The row in Dobwalls — with shouting matches, public humiliation and even talk of lawyers — didn’t just show dysfunction; it showed contempt for the people Reform claims to represent.
Every minute spent arguing over who controls a Facebook page or who holds which title is a minute not spent dealing with the real issues that matter in Cornwall: the cost of living, housing, healthcare and jobs.
“Disgusted” — and Rightly So
The anger from within Reform’s own base is understandable. As one local put it, “They’ve become exactly like the politicians they said they’d replace.” That sentiment is spreading.
Reform UK’s supporters were not looking for another personality cult or another clique of councillors playing politics. They were looking for conviction — for a party that would genuinely put people before personal gain.
Instead, they’ve got back-room power struggles, petty rivalries and a leadership vacuum that’s destroying what little credibility the party still has.
Reform in Name Only
It’s hard to avoid the irony: a party named Reform that now most needs reforming itself. The Dobwalls debacle was not an isolated incident but the public eruption of a long-festering culture of control and self-interest.
Reform UK once promised to challenge the establishment. Now it is the establishment — defensive, divided and detached from the voters who gave it a chance.
For Cornwall’s voters, the message is clear: the so-called reformers have become the very thing they claimed to fight. And for many who once believed in the party’s mission, disgust has replaced hope.
Until Reform UK remembers who it was meant to serve, it will continue to eat itself alive — and the people of Cornwall will be left to pick up the pieces.
