Reform councillor who quit says 'Farage is a terrible leader'

NEWLY elected councillor Donna Edmunds has quit Reform UK days after the local elections, calling Nigel Farage a “terrible leader” and saying he “must never be prime minister”.

Edmunds, who was elected in Hodnet, Shropshire, was suspended from the party after posting on X that she intended to defect once ousted MP Rupert Lowe launched a challenger party. She later wrote she had been suspended “pending an investigation”.

Speaking after her suspension, she criticised Farage’s leadership, saying: “A good leader knows that you bring your team with you, that you champion their successes as the team’s successes. A bad leader claims personal credit for every win and stabs people in the back.”

She added: “I thought I was joining a party. It turned out I had joined a cult. Because I remain loyal to the grassroots party members, whom I hope to see thrive, I cannot stand silently by as the cult's leader wages war against them.”

Although she attempted to leave the party, Edmunds found the only way was to cancel her payment auto-renewal, meaning she remains a member until her subscription expires.

Following her resignation, she said she no longer has to “watch what I say” and called jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson a “political prisoner”, saying he should be freed.

A Reform UK spokesperson told The Independent: “The reason for her suspension is that she posted on social media that she intended to defect to another party. We will not comment further until the completion of the investigation.”

Reform UK, which won more than 600 seats and control of 10 councils including the mayoralties of Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire in Thursday’s polls, has faced scrutiny since the results.

Farage described the outcome as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party”.