Reform UK hoping to create a stir in first local elections for Nottinghamshire County Council on May 1

Reform UK to marketing themselves as ‘the party that listens’ ahead of the upcoming local elections.

On May 1, residents will go to the polls to elect their Nottinghamshire County Council representatives and for the first time Reform UK will be fielding candidates.

Keen to build on the support they garnered during last summer’s general election — which saw six Reform MPs elected to parliament — the party will be standing in all council divisions across Nottinghamshire.

The list of candidates includes people from all walks of life, from successful businessmen, to teachers and a veteran.

Branch chairman, Lee Smith, was keen to make the point that the majority of the candidates are “ordinary people” who are completely new to politics, and so do not carry the same ‘baggage’ as existing councillors.

He said: “I myself have only been involved since the general election last year.

“Before that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to vote because it really felt like it was all pointless.

“Like a lot of people I was completely disillusioned with where politics is now and have been look for an alternative.

“Every year we see our council tax go up, but we are left questioning where that money is being spent.”

Lee estimates that the total party membership in the Newark area now stands at over 1,000 — up from around 400 six months ago.

In Sherwood, the numbers have also grown rapidly to a similar level.

“When it comes down to it, most of us [candidates] are just ordinary people who were fed up,” he added

“The difference is, rather than sitting at home and complaining, we decided to get up and do something about it.

“There isn’t a career politician in sight — often the main parties get in the way of councillors actually getting things done and we want to be different.

“We haven’t been on the inside before, and that has a lot of benefits because we won’t have the same sort of baggage.”

This point was echoed by Daniel Challans, who is standing in the Newark East division against incumbent and current county council leader, Sam Smith.

He said: “For the past few decades votes have gone to either Labour or the Conservatives.

“But the people have been let down by those in power and aren’t going to stand for it anymore.

“The most important thing that we can do now is to get out on the streets and start listening to people, because it seems councillors don’t really listen.

“We want to know what the real concerns are and make those our priorities.

Some of the most frequent issues raised in conversations with residents include; anti-social behaviour, potholes and the state of the county’s roads, business rates, as well as healthcare and more specifically services at Newark Hospital.

He said: “As businessmen ourselves we deal with finances every day, and other candidates bring expertise from their day jobs which will be beneficial to the role of councillors.

“I wouldn’t be standing if I didn’t believe [winning] could be done.

“I know it will be a challenge, and realistically we can’t expect to win all the seats. But this is about building on the momentum we already have and being ambitious.

“We could achieve something quite significant here.”

A full list of candidates will be confirmed this week, following the closure of nominations on Wednesday.