Who’s going to take the Reform leadership?
North unitary council leader says he did not see tonight’s leadership challenge coming, as he braces himself for a challenge from his deputy
By Sarah Ward
There will be a head to head battle between the Reform UK leader and deputy of North Northamptonshire Council tonight, as the group decides who will lead them into the next civic year.
As reported by the Northants Telegraph, the party, which has been in charge of the North unitary since May last year, is facing its first public unrest, as leader, Cllr Martin Griffiths will face a challenge to his supremacy by Cllr Eddie McDonald.
It has been rumoured for weeks that McDonald was to be thrown out of his deputy role and now in response he has decided to go up against his colleague. A group meeting that will be held at the former Kettering Borough Council meeting this evening, will decide who comes out on top. Whoever is elected by the vote of the council’s 41 Reform UK councillors, will become leader of the council at next month’s annual council.
Griffiths, who was the former Conservative leader of Wellingborough Council, has been in politics for twenty years and has been involved in numerous political scraps before. When the council was first created in 2021, he had wanted to become deputy leader but quit the party and became independent after Cllr Helen Howell got the role. He became a Reform UK councillor months before last May’s election.
At the cabinet meeting held at Corby Cube this morning, the tension between the two was palpable, with the pair not appearing to interact despite sitting next to each other.
Cllr Griffiths told NN Journal at the end of the meeting:
“I did not see a leadership challenge coming. I am determined to continue delivering for the people of North Northamptonshire and continue the good work we have been doing.
“Compared to other Reform UK councils we have managed to keep out of the headlines and just get on with the job.”
Asked whether he had been ringing round his councillors for support, he said:
“I don’t need to. I have got a whip.”
He said that tomorrow he and his chief executive Adele Wylie, were going for interviews in the Local Government Chronicle’s most improved council of the year award.
In the break we asked Cllr McDonald a series of questions, but were stonewalled.
Keeping to the Reform UK mantra he told us’ I don’t discuss internal politics’.
His colleague Cllr Lee Duffy, also refused to speak, but Cllr Trevor Conway said he had not made up his mind about who he would vote for and would listen to what each candidate had to say at tonight’s meeting.
The Reform UK group on West Northamptonshire Council is holding its group meeting next month. Leader Mark Arnull looks relatively safe to keep his leadership role, but there could be a last minute move against him.
Rats in a bag?
Given how Griffiths made the decision to remove Cllr Chris Kellett from his role on the Police Crime Panel for having the temerity to, God forbid, carry out his role and speak up about holding the Crime Commissioner to account, then I would not shed any tear with such a weak man going, who is clearly subject to influence by other wings of the party. A leader needs to lead, not act like a sock puppet with other people's hand up his back. I have very little about his potential replacement to go, so will watch and see what happens.