Reform Make an Entrance

Reform Leaflet

Several households in Newham have been lucky enough to receive the first offering from Reform in advance of the 2026 local elections.

Reading through the short leaflet it would appear that they have little on-the-ground presence and someone at central office has simply been scouring the accounts.

They make the assertion about increased council tax, missing the fact that Newham had a zero per cent increase in council tax every year for a decade. But as we have noted, they don’t seem to have a great deal of local knowledge.

Nonetheless, they seem to have identified some interesting areas pf spending. If their figures are correct, there are a number of areas which look ripe for pruning; the next mayor might be grateful for the heads up.

It does seem that they intend to take the next election a little more seriously than they have in the past.

In the 2024 general election Reform took roughly 5000 votes across the three constituencies. They didn’t stand a candidate in the 2022 mayoral election and only stood two candidates for council, in Custom House and Wall End taking 93 and 103 votes respectively with very little evidence of any campaigning.

But the interesting feature of their propaganda is that they are taking aim at Newham’s spending, a topic we expect every party to focus on. This may or may not be of direct benefit to Reform, but the same message repeated by every opposition party will begin to wear away trust in Labour as competent.

Reform Leaflet