Reform gains in local elections may shake up rural policy

The 2025 local elections in England have seen Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party make significant gains, potentially affecting agricultural policy both locally and nationally.

Sarah Pochin became Reform’s fifth MP after securing a dramatic victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a 14,696 Labour majority by just six votes, or 0.02%, in Sir Keir Starmer’s first major electoral test as prime minister.

Reform’s success extended beyond parliament, with the party making strong advances in county councils, and securing the first mayoralty of Greater Lincolnshire through former Conservative MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns.

See also: Can Reform UK be trusted to deliver for farming?

The party is set to take control of Staffordshire council after winning 24 of the 30 seats declared so far.

Reform is also on course to gain Lincolnshire Council, having secured 30 of the first 36 declared seats. Labour has won three, the Liberal Democrats two, and the Conservatives just one.

David Bean, the Countryside Alliance’s parliament and government relations manager, noted that while it was clear Reform had a strong night, it was still too early to determine how Labour and the Conservatives had performed, as many results were yet to be announced.

“It looks like Reform UK will be taking control of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire councils which is significant as it will be the first time the party will have the opportunity to govern any government body,” he said.

“They will no longer have the relative freedom afforded by being in opposition and will have to deliver on the pledges they have made to the electorate in these areas, as they will in other areas where they win seats.”

Likewise, Andrea Jenkyns’ election win as mayor of Greater Lincolnshire will give the public a chance to see how a Reform politician performs in a governing role.

“Andrea Jenkyns seems an unconventional choice for Reform in rural Lincolnshire,” Mr Bean suggested.

“In a 2015 interview, she expressed being a vegetarian for all her adult life and a supporter of animal rights.”

‘Timely opportunity’ – NFU president

NFU president Tom Bradshaw called the elections “a timely opportunity to shine a light” on major challenges facing UK agriculture, including recent inheritance tax reforms that could leave family farms with unaffordable bills.

“Over the past 18 months, the industry has taken a battering,” Mr Bradshaw said, citing volatile costs, extreme weather, rising rural crime, and the sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applicants in England, albeit temporarily, according to Defra.

He praised the growing number of county councils backing the NFU’s “Stop the family farm tax” campaign and called for elected mayors to stand up for local agriculture.

Labour, which narrowly held the North Tyneside and Doncaster mayoralties, faces pressure to rethink its farming policies, especially after criticism from rural Labour leaders and the NFU.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are aiming for substantial gains in councils across Middle England, while the Greens are targeting council seats in Oxfordshire and Kent.

With 1,641 out of 17,000 council seats being contested across 23 local authorities in England in addition to six mayoral elections, including some in key rural areas, the elections represent a pivotal moment. Councils will continue to declare results until late on Friday (2 May).