Two leave group after Reform UK councillor elected in North Yorkshire

Two members of the North Yorkshire Independents (NY Independents) group of councillors have left to form a new group with members of the Green Party.

It comes after new Reform councillor Tom Seston was listed as a member of the NY Independents group along with Reform colleague Mike Jordan on the council’s website.

Cllr Seston won Scarborough’s Eastfield by-election by taking 62.7 per cent of the vote in a by-election last month following the resignation of former Social Justice Party councillor Tony Randerson.

Councillor Mike Schofield, who represents the Harlow and St George’s division, and Tadcaster councillor Kirsty Poskitt, have both left NY Independents to make up the new Green and Independents political grouping, along with a third independent councillor, Paul Haslam, who was not previously in a group.

Cllr Schofield said he made the change because he felt he could not work alongside a party like Reform that he said “had some very far right leanings and sections within it”.

He added: “Due to this, and the fact I believe there are some very serious climate and ecological issues within not only my division but also the entire county, I have decided to work as an Independent alongside my Green Party colleagues going forward.”

Welcoming the new councillors, group leader and Green councillor Kevin Foster said: “I’ve always had a collaborative approach, and I look forward to working within the new group. We’ll stand up for what’s right for the people we represent.

“Even when councils are short of money, they cannot skimp on fairness and inclusivity.”

Reacting to the departure of the two councillors, NY Independents group leader and Richmond councillor, Stuart Parsons, said: “C’est la vie.”

He added: “There’s no decision been taken as to whether we will be working with Reform and they jumped ship a little bit early.

“Sadly, they didn’t make their position clear before jumping ship so that we could have an open and honest discussion.”

Cllr Parsons said information on the council website advising that the two Reform councillors were part of the NY Independents group was incorrect.

He said the group was aiming to make a decision on their inclusion or otherwise before the end of the week.

Reform councillor Mike Jordan said the situation was “fluid”.

“We’ve got a full council meeting coming up and I’ll have a sit down with Stuart  and see how the land lies.”

Cllr Jordan confirmed the two Reform councillors wanted to be in a group because that meant they could get places on council committees.

He said if Reform got a third councillor they would form their own group, but this would require another councillor to defect to the party or the party to win a seat at a by-election.

He added: “We’ve made it quite clear that the door is closing for anyone wanting to defect.

“We’re not going to let people stand around and see how the land lies.”

The changes mean the Conservatives and Independent group remains the biggest group on the authority with 47 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats and Liberal have 14, Labour ten, the Green Party and Independents seven, North Yorkshire Independents seven without Reform and nine with, and then three councillors who are not in a political grouping.