The leader of the right-wing party, which currently tops national polling, visited Dagenham today ahead of next month’s local election, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he doesn’t think his party is the favourite to win council elections in Barking and Dagenham.
As he visited Heathway in Dagenham today (Friday 10th), Farage told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he thought much depended on how well the Green Party does.
“A lot will depend on how much the Greens split the Labour vote,” Farage said. “You think Dagenham, okay Reform will do well, bits of Barking will be harder. But I don’t think anyone can read what’s going to happen.
“In Havering I feel that we are favourites. I don’t think we’re favourites in this borough but I do think there’s a chance.”
Farage was speaking ahead of local elections set to take place on Thursday, 7th May. Every one of the 51 council seats in the Labour-run borough is up for grabs.
With Labour currently holding 47 seats, the Greens three and the Conservatives one, Farage said the ruling party is Reform’s biggest opponent.
Reform, Labour and the Conservatives are each fielding 51 candidates. The Greens are standing 36, and the Liberal Democrats 19.
There are also two from the Christian People’s Alliance, one from the Workers Party and four independents.
Farage said: “At the moment Labour, dominate to an astonishing degree – 47 out of 51 council seats.
“I think it’s Labour we’re taking on. I think a lot of their vote is actually going to go with the rise of the Green vote. And we’ll see what happens to the Tory vote.”
Farage suggested that people were abandoning Labour and the Conservative parties for Reform and the Greens in search of a “change vote”.
However he hinted that, where Reform run councils, they wouldn’t be able to “wave a magic wand” and said he was “not overpromising”.
He admitted that councils are “pretty hamstrung by what they have to provide”.
Councils across the country are struggling to make funds cover rising costs and demand for services – particularly in social care, special educational needs and temporary accommodation.
A leading Reform councillor on Kent County Council, which the party runs, told the Financial Times in February that the party had not been able to find “big savings” in the authority’s budget.
Farage said: “Let’s face it, local councils are pretty hamstrung by what they have to provide. We’re running ten, or got majorities in ten.
“We’ve managed to save about £300million in excessive expenditure, keep council tax rises down below that of the other parties – but can we wave a magic wand? No. And I’m not overpromising.”
Farage said Reform could “look for better ways of providing adult social care, might bring some business brains into it”. But he added: “That’s something you can’t do overnight.”
He also said Reform councils would “work with local police to change policing priorities”.
However, Farage said: “When most people that vote here on 7th May, many will vote on local issues, a lot will vote on national issues because that’s the way it’s always been.”
He said these included issues such as “law and order”, “the cost of energy” and immigration.
Voters will head to the polls to decide which party they want to control Barking Town Hall on Thursday, 7th May. The deadline to register to vote is Monday, 20th April.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service is aiming to interview candidates from all the local parties ahead of the election.
