Reform UK has lost control of Worcestershire County Council after the Conservatives joined the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and independents to form a power-sharing alliance on Thursday morning. Green councillor Matt Jenkins was installed as the new council leader, ending Reform's minority administration after 12 months in office.
The change marks a sharp reversal for Reform, which had 24 of the 57 seats on Worcestershire County Council and had been running the authority as a minority administration since last year's local elections. The coalition brought together parties that do not normally sit on the same side of local government politics, but the numbers now put them in charge of the council.
Conservative group leader Adam Kent defended the deal, saying there were major differences with the Greens on national policy but adding that local government is not Westminster. He said residents had suffered appallingly over the past year because of the instability of Reform in Worcestershire, and argued that responsible councillors could not keep standing on the sidelines while the council remained in turmoil.
The move follows weeks of infighting behind closed doors and came after Reform opted to replace its own leader during the dispute. Last month, former Reform councillor Jo Monk was suspended from the party and removed from her leadership role after a bitter internal battle, then later resigned from Reform and became an independent councillor. Her husband, Ashley Monk, was also suspended, reportedly for bringing the party into disrepute.
Monk said on Thursday that she was shocked by the sequence of events and that it had not gone as expected. She said she felt unfairly treated by her own group, while still expressing respect for Reform's national leadership. But she also said the local group would not listen to her and had been naive, describing younger members as having followed one person who wanted leadership.
The coalition now gives Worcestershire County Council a new governing majority and leaves Reform out of office after a year in power. The immediate question is not whether the old administration has fallen — it has — but whether the new alliance can hold together long enough to turn a fragile anti-Reform pact into stable control.
