Reform UK eye major gains in North East May elections

Reform UK had delivered a seismic shock to the North East’s political landscape, sweeping to control of Durham County Council.

And it was no close-run thing, with Reform claiming an overwhelming majority and Labour reduced to just a handful of seats in a county that had been a red heartland for decades.

In 2026, Reform has its eyes on some more big prizes in our region.

Local elections in Tyne and Wear this May offer a rare chance for dramatic upheaval. 

Because of boundary changes in four areas – Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, and South Tyneside – every council seat will be contested, rather than the usual one-third, and that means that Labour’s grip on power is in serious peril.

With Reform holding a consistent lead at the top of the national polls and Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity having plummeted, to the point where Labour was pushed into third as its vote share collapsed at the recent Gorton and Denton by-election, big changes to the North East’s political establishment are very much on the cards.

The Greens and Lib Dems smell blood, too, and hold their own hopes of major gains.

Reform currently has just one councillor across the five boroughs of Tyne and Wear, Brian Smith in North Tyneside.

But Paul Donaghy, the party’s constituency chairman in Washington and Gateshead South, expects that to change dramatically come May.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Reform expects to field a full slate of candidates across Tyne and Wear and that “everywhere is on the table” as it aims for a repeat of 2025’s results in Durham.

Mr Donaghy, who was Reform’s candidate for North East mayor in 2024, added: “We don’t have a specific target, we will stand candidates everywhere.

And I think you will see what happened in Durham last year, and to an extent, Northumberland, replicated across the North East.”

Sunderland in particular has been a long-term target area for Reform and the part of the region where Mr Donaghy performed strongest in the mayoral contest. Mr Farage will be back in Houghton-le-Spring for a rally later this month. 

Gateshead’s borders with and similarities to some of the County Durham towns and villages where Reform had success last year also make it an obvious target, particularly given frustration among many with the Labour-run council over issues like the closure of the Gateshead Flyover and the stalled regeneration of the Quayside.

Mr Donaghy, who believes Labour have “taken the vote for granted” in parts of the North East, has been speaking to Reform’s leadership in Durham and says they are “leading the way” in the kind of policies the party wants to enact.

Reform councillors voted to scrap the county’s climate emergency within weeks of being elected and have recently signed off on what is the lowest council tax rise in the region, 1.99%.

However, that has come alongside a reduction in council tax support, meaning that individuals on low incomes will lose their previous exemption.

Mr Donaghy described Durham as a “good blueprint to follow across the region” but was reluctant to offer detailed local policy priorities “until we get in and have a look under the hood” of council finances, beyond wanting to redirect funding from climate-related projects towards things like fixing potholes, improving youth provision, and cleaning up parks.

His party has been criticised this week for having pledged to cut taxes in election leaflets and later increasing council tax in Reform-run areas like Kent.

Mr Donaghy said he would make no promises on council tax levels. He added: “Nobody wants to see council tax go up, we want to see it capped and follow Durham’s example.

But until we get in and see the damage done, you can’t make promises around council tax.”

Critics also accuse Reform of lacking local policies, with the party’s campaign leaflets often heavily focused on Mr Farage’s personal brand and national issues like immigration.

Mr Donaghy denied that was the case, but said that the “last thing we want to do is put a policy out there and then realise we don’t have the money to do it”.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I am here in Washington and Gateshead South talking about local issues, we have a local newsletter that goes out. We are working on things that are local and specific, but the problem we have is that we have to get in and have a look at the financial situation.

“It would be wrong of us to start making policies on local issues without knowing where we stand financially.

The biggest selling point for Reform in the areas we have had success has been that we are trying to reduce waste in councils.

“The last thing we want to do is put a policy out there and then realise we don’t have the money to do it. We need to get in and have a look at what the financial situation is.”

The defections of the likes of Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman to Reform, having been prominent former Tory ministers, has led opponents to brand Reform “recycled Tories”.

Mr Donaghy jokes that it is a trend he started some years ago, having jumped ship from the Conservatives to Reform in 2023, and that their arrival was about “trying to put together the best team” for government.

The former councillor, who is likely to stand in Washington at the upcoming local elections, added: “A lot of people forget that is where I started. As long as you come in and do your job and prove your worth, I think people don’t mind where you have come from. We have former Labour Party members here, former Lib Dems, even a former Green.

“As long as you are willing to come in and fight for your local area and the country, I’m not bothered what your background is. 

“I have had the odd comment on the doorstep about being recycled Tories. It is just people parroting the Labour line. Then when you actually speak to people and explain, they understand why they have [defected] because we are trying to do things differently.”