There's something genuinely energising about the momentum behind Reform UK right now. Having worked as a County Councillor for Preston East, I can tell you that the appetite for change at the local level is real, it's substantial, and it's growing. When Nigel Farage launched our local election campaign in Sunderland, he wasn't just kicking off a political machineâhe was tapping into something that's been building for years: the realisation that traditional politics isn't delivering for ordinary people.
A Ground Swell That Started at Local Level
People often talk about Reform UK as a national phenomenon, but what they miss is that this movement has always been rooted in local communities. It's in council chambers like the one I serve in. It's in town halls where people are frustrated with the same old policies delivering the same old results. It's from constituents who tell me that immigration policy isn't working, that the NHS is broken, that Brussels-style bureaucracy has infected even our local government.
The traditional parties took the local elections for granted for too long. Labour thought they owned Northern communities. The Conservatives thought they were unbeatable in the South. Both were wrong. Local elections are where the real change happens, and voters are starting to understand that. You can protest nationally, but you can shape your community locally. Reform candidates standing in your council wardâthat's real power that affects your rubbish collection, your roads, your schools.
Building Representation From the Ground Up
Farage's campaign launch in Sunderland was significant for a reason: it shows Reform UK is competing for seats right across the country, not just in pockets of support. We're putting forward candidates in community after community, with practical plans to actually deliver change. Not promisesâdelivery. That's what local government is supposed to be about.
I've been on the council long enough to see how real change happens. It's not dramatic. It's not headline-grabbing. It's efficient administration, proper budgeting, listening to your constituents, and actually following through on what you promised. Reform UK candidates understand this. We're not here to play games with taxpayer money. We're here to make your local services work better.
The Momentum is Unstoppable
The energy in our campaign is unlike anything I've witnessed in British politics. When I knock on doors in Preston East, people open them knowing exactly what Reform UK stands for. They don't need to be convinced of our principlesâthey're living the consequences of policies that don't align with those principles every day. A NHS at breaking point. Immigration policy that's lost public confidence. An economy that's left working families behind.
This movement cannot be stopped because it's not based on personality or spin. It's based on genuine policy differences and real solutions. At the local level, that translates into candidates who will actually fix the problems in your area instead of making excuses.
The local elections coming up are the biggest opportunity yet for Reform UK to prove what we can deliver. Every council seat we win is a chance to show that our ideas work in practice. Every ward where we stand sends a message: change is coming. And every voter who switches their allegiance from the tired old parties to Reform is saying the same thing: we're ready for something different, and we're ready to build it from the ground up.
Farage's campaign launch wasn't just ceremonial. It was the opening of a chapter where Reform UK finally gets to show what we can do. And from my perspective in local government, I'm confident about what that chapter will contain.