Cllr Lawrence Davies, who represents Rodbourne Cheney, has become the first of the 14 Reform councillors elected to Swindon Borough Council in May to leave the party.
He will remain a councillor and continue representing residents in Rodbourne Cheney, but will no longer sit as a Reform UK member.
Cllr Davies said he had lost confidence in the way the party was governed, making a series of allegations about the management of its councillors in Swindon.
He claims elected members are told how to vote and what to say by party officers and the whip, while council questions and speeches are rewritten using artificial intelligence.Cllr Davies said:
“I am no longer confident in the way the party is governed.
“I have been a long-standing Reform voter and campaigner, but I cannot with clear conscience continue to fight for Reform UK in Swindon when members are told how to vote and what to say by their officers and whip and every question and every speech is rewritten with AI.”
Reform UK secured 14 of the 57 seats on Swindon Borough Council during the all-out elections in May.
Cllr Davies topped the poll in Rodbourne Cheney with 828 votes, while fellow Reform candidate Derek O’Hanlon was also elected.
But Cllr Davies claims concerns about the party’s operation began before voters went to the polls.
He alleges Reform candidates were given instructions before the election.
He said:
“Reform candidates were instructed by the party not to use social media or engage in discussions before the May election which left voters unsure what their policies were.
“It seems Reform head office was more interested in control than helping their candidates get elected.”
Cllr Davies also claims tensions emerged within the newly elected Reform group following the election.
He said he objected in May to the appointment of a party whip because he claims the position was filled without a vote.
Cllr Davies further alleges the person appointed to the role repeatedly threatened to use the party whip against him if he spoke directly to council officers without going through them. He said:
“In May I raised an objection that a party whip was appointed without a vote.
“Since that time that officer who has had no previous experience as a councillor has repeated threatened to use the whip on me if I so much as speak to an officer without going through them.”
Cllr Davies said he had continued to support the leader of the Reform group despite the dispute, but has now lost confidence in its wider management. He said:
“I have always supported my leader, but I have lost confidence in how the Reform group in Swindon is managed and dictated from above.
“So I am leaving the Reform UK party.
“I will continue to represent the people of Rodbourne Cheney but not for Reform.”
His departure reduces Reform UK’s representation on Swindon Borough Council from 14 councillors to 13.
Cllr Davies has been involved in several community activities and controversies since his election, including a Reform litter-picking event which ended in a dispute over rubbish being put in a resident’s wheelie bin.
He was also recently described by Swindon Borough Council as Reform UK’s shadow member for Waste and Streetscene and took part in the council’s Big Town Centre Clean-Up.
Reform UK have been approached for comment, updates to follow.
