Northants Reform UK councillor suspended following 'number of concerns'
Cllr Adam Smith is now sitting as an independent
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By Sarah Ward
Less than a month into office and a Reform UK West Northamptonshire councillor has been suspended from the political party.
Adam Smith’s details on the council’s website changed from Reform UK to independent yesterday and the party has confirmed to NN Journal that he is under investigation.
A spokesperson for the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) Reform UK group said:
“Following a number of concerns regarding the conduct of councillor Adam Smith, the whip has been suspended pending an internal investigation.
“We cannot comment further at this time.”
Cllr Smith represents the Hackleton and Roade ward, with Tory Fiona Cole the other councillor for the ward. NN Journal has contacted Cllr Smith for comment but has not had a response. The ‘concerns’ are understood to refer to his personal life.
His suspension takes the number of Reform UK councillors down to 41*, but they are still by far the largest party on the authority. In a seismic shock of an election result, Farage’s party trounced the Conservatives last month. The new leader Mark Arnull and all of his cabinet are first time councillors and held their first cabinet last night.
As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week, WNC will be one of the first councils that is descended upon by Reform UK’s DOGE style team. Tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried will be leading a team of consultants to have a look through the council’s accounts and contracts. Kent County Council is the first authority to go under inspection.
A Reform UK spokesman said:
“Reform won a historic victory in Northamptonshire on a mandate to cut waste and reinvest in local services. We have now assembled a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors who will visit and analyse every Reform UK-controlled council, including West Northamptonshire Council.
“The taskforce will identify and eliminate wasteful spending, increasing transparency and ensuring taxpayer money is spent solely on activity that benefits local people.”
In the US, the DOGE model, upon which Reform is basing its own activities, has gone down badly. DOGE leader Elon Musk quit last week after his company suffered a hammering on the stock market in response to DOGE.
*the first version of this article incorrectly said Reform UK had 40 councillors.
DOGE has also been found to have COST more than it saved, and has left devastation in it's wake. Can we look forward to our NHS being withdrawn, as well as vital benefits, from our most vulnerable members of society too? How abut stripping women of their rights, and challenging our outstanding abortion laws? Let's NOT follow the U.S. as it slips into a very 'last-days-of-Rome' mode, please
Presumably the team of Reform “experts” will need to be paid. HOW MUCH.
So much for reducing the cost of outside consultants.