Assembly member Alex Wilson says running the borough gives his party the chance to show they are “solid, competent and stable” reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter
Reform UK must use their control of Havering Council to prove themselves to Londoners as a “solid, competent and stable” party, an Assembly Member has said.
Nigel Farage’s party took 39 of the 55 seats in the borough in May’s local elections, meaning Havering became the first Reform UK-run local authority in the capital.
It is led by Keith Prince, who is also a Reform UK assembly member, who says his council has initially focused on stabilising the finances and pressuring authorities to complete long-overdue works at Gallows Corner.
However, Havering is a rare success story for the party in London, where, according to analysis from pollsters More in Common, the 13 per cent of votes earned in May’s local elections “was a notable undershoot of expectations”.
Alex Wilson, Reform UK’s leader on the London Assembly and a polling enthusiast, said the party needed to overcome the city’s unique demographic and political blend through “leading by example” where they do have power.
“Where we have taken power in Havering, our flagship borough in London, we can show that we can actually run a solid, competent, stable administration, and be a beacon to show not just what Reform can do in London, but also the country,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after a More in Common event at Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham.
“Lead by example, where we’ve got power, where we use it, but also just keep working hard.
“London has a very different demographic and political mix to the rest of the country, and that’s just something we have to deal with.”
Presenting his analysis at the event, Wilson said that the party had been extremely effective in contesting by-elections in recent months – especially in seats held by Labour, while the Tories have also taken a smaller hit.
In two thirds of council by elections since 2025, Reform has been either first or second, he claimed, showing that they were “a national party on the rise”.
Half of the seats gained have been from Labour, primarily in traditional Northern, Midland and Welsh ‘Red Wall’ areas, however, with the party often out of the running in much of the capital.
Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common UK, said that Reform’s pool of potential voters are “mainly Conservatives” and that those considering the party wanted to know that they were ready for government.
“London’s still a bit more of a challenge, but just because something’s a challenge, doesn’t mean it’s not worth it at all,” Wilson insisted.
He said they will continue fighting in as many by-elections in London as possible, including the upcoming poll in Holborn and St Pancras, to give Reform voters in the seat the opportunity to vote for someone and “to show we are a serious national party”.
“Holborn and St Pancras is probably not somewhere we’re expecting to win,” he said. “But we’ll put up a candidate and try hard – I will be out there knocking on doors, supporting whoever our candidate is.”
He was confident of having more success in the 2028 Mayoral Election, however, due to a high-profile candidate with a relentless focus on crime.
The party announced Laila Cunningham as their choice to contest City Hall earlier this year – and she remains the only confirmed candidate for a major political party so far.
Wilson said: “Having already selected our candidate longer [ago], we’ve had a head start, with a high profile candidate, Laila, with a background as a criminal prosecutor.
“Policing, crime and safety is such a big issue, across all voting groups. I think it’s a really powerful message.”
His words were echoed by senior Reform figure Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, who said that they are making “great progress” in London but admitted it was “not one of our strongest areas”.
“The challenge for us is that London has got a significant, what I would call, Islington-style middle-class socialism,” he told the BBC.
“And that’s not our politics, that’s just the nature of it. We can’t, in a sense, we’re not going to please everybody.
“But in the outer parts of London, you look at the Haverings of this world, we did very well in South East London, and, sure, everybody’s scrapping around for every vote – that’s the nature of it.”
Local news needs your support
We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
ACT NOW!
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
