Seb NobleCornwall political reporter
BBCFormer leaders of Reform UK on Cornwall Council have said they faced “friction” as they tried to balance the national party’s priorities with the interests of Cornish residents.
Five members of the party have left to form a new Cornish Independent Non-Aligned Group on the authority.
They claim they were told by party leaders to focus on issues such as immigration and net zero, rather than prioritising affordable housing and public services for residents.
Reform UK has denied the claims and said members had “complete autonomy” to raise local issues and solutions to improve their communities.
The new Independent Non-Aligned Group includes Rob Parsonage, the former leader of the Reform UK group, and his former deputy Rowland O’Connor.
Councillors Christine Parsonage, Karen Knight and Anna Thomason-Kenyon have also defected.
O’Connor said there was a “disparity” between Reform’s national agenda and the interests of residents – and the two had felt “mutually exclusive”.
He said: “The most important things for our residents are affordable housing and continuity of services.
“The only way I felt I could prioritise the people that voted for me was to resign and go independent where I could operate as freely as I possibly could.”
Parsonage added: “I didn’t realise how much of the national [strategy] drove the Cornwall Council side of life.
“My desire was to make a difference in Cornwall, to help sort out the debt, to improve the services for Cornwall and that friction was definitely there.”
He cited how members had been instructed to oppose all renewable energy projects when they came before planning committees – whatever their merit.
“The statement was: ‘It is no to all solar, no to all windmills.’ Whereas, because you are in a planning group, it’s a legal framework you have to operate within.
“So you’re not allowed to go down the avenue of saying no at the very start. You have to consider everything and, if it is the right thing, you have to say yes,” Parsonage explained.
O’Connor added they had been told to criticise issues such as the council’s debt levels without offering solutions.
“If holding the council to account means shouting and coming up with no solutions, that’s unsatisfactory to me,” he said.
‘Complete autonomy’
A Reform UK Cornwall spokesperson said the councillors’ claims were untrue: “Reform UK councillors have complete autonomy to take a stand on local issues and are encouraged to come up with solutions to improve their communities.
“However, voters are right to expect their elected Reform UK representatives to remember the platform they were elected on, which includes opposing the net zero agenda and ensuring taxpayer funds are spent on local people, not illegal migrants.
“Whilst we are disappointed by the resignations, we wish the councillors all the best for the future and look forward to working closely with them in Lys Kernow [County Hall].
“Under our new leadership in the council, Reform UK Cornwall is unified in our commitment to hold this administration to account.”
