Reform UK's Maidstone Triumph

Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party has won its first seats on Maidstone Borough Council after a by-election on Thursday.

It means the Green-Lib Dem coalition loses overall numerical control of the Borough, although no immediate changes to the leadership of the council are expected.

Reform UK won all 3 council seats in the Harrietsham, Lenham and North Downs Ward of the Borough Council - an area of West Kent just south of Maidstone.

Reform candidates took 53% of the votes. The highest Reform UK candidate got 1,228 votes.

The Green Party  was the second most popular party, although its highest candidate was well behind Reform with 459 votes.

The vacancies arose after the resignations of three Independent councillors - two of which said they were resigning over the council’s continued support for the Heathlands Garden Settlement scheme, which will see 5,000 new homes built on an area at Lenham Heath.

Housing at Heathlands was originally placed into Maidstone’s Local Plan by the Conservative group, but has continued to be supported by the Green and Lib Dem administration, which is currently in power.

Chris Houlihan, Mariela Nedelcheva and Steve Povey become the first Reform UK councillors ever to be elected to Maidstone Borough Council.  Maidstone is expected to be included in the new West Kent Unitary Authority planned by the government, joining up with Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

The votes for the ward were:

Chris Houlihan (Reform UK) 1,228 ELECTED
Steve Povey (Reform UK) 1,226 ELECTED
Mariela Nedelcheva (Reform UK) 1,153 ELECTED

Callum Sweetman (Green) 459
James Snyder (Green) 452
Reshmi Kalam (Green) 430

Isobelle Horne (Con) 342
Darcy Rotherham (Con) 285
Jennifer Horwood (Lib Dem) 236
Onyekachukwu Chukwuma (Con) 234
Sam Burrows (Lib Dem) 156
Andrew Cockersole (Lib Dem) 123
Sean Turner (Heritage) 97
Gary Butler (Ind) 74

The turnout was 31%.

The political breakdown now is Conservative 13,
Lib Dem 12,
Green and Independent Alliance 11,
Labour 6, 
Independent and Fant & Oakwood Group 4,
Reform UK 3.

Chris Houlihan, semi-retired after four decades in banking, told the Kent Current news service the message was clear: “We listened to the local community, especially around Heathlands, and that made the difference. People want change, and they have sent a message.”

Callum Sweetman, a Green candidate, told Kent Current that he encountered anger on the doorstep. “People are frustrated with the whole situation. Heathlands feels like it is in the wrong place, but unless central government changes its mind, there is no way to reverse it.”