Newly Elected Reform UK Councillor Suspended Just 3 Days Into the Job
It didn’t take long for trouble to brew after last week’s elections — just three days in, and Reform UK has already suspended one of its freshly elected councilors.
Donna Edmunds, who was voted in as a councillor in Hodnet, Shropshire, on Thursday, has been sidelined by the party pending an internal investigation. The reason? A social media post that didn’t exactly scream loyalty, reported HuffPost.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Edmunds revealed the news herself: “This morning I woke up to an email from Reform UK Head Office advising me that I have been suspended from the party ‘pending an investigation’. Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend Reform their support for the short term – for Thursday’s elections – even if they felt they couldn’t for the long term.”
According to party HQ, that was enough to accuse her of bringing Reform into disrepute — and damaging its interests. Ouch.
But Edmunds didn’t stop there. She doubled down, openly criticising the party’s recent decisions — including giving the boot to Rupert Lowe MP and parting ways with former deputy leader Ben Habib. She’s not one to quietly toe the party line.
In the same post, she shared a screengrab from last week, made while she was still running for office, in which she admitted: “I’m a Reform candidate. I’m waiting for Rupert and Ben to give us a real alternative, and then I’ll defect. I’m far from being the only one.”
That sort of honesty might win points with voters fed up with political spin, but unsurprisingly, it’s ruffled feathers at Reform HQ.
Edmunds described the campaign as a tough one, saying she often came across voters who were disillusioned with both the Conservatives and Labour but weren’t entirely sold on Reform either, especially given how, in her words, the party had “behaved so shamefully toward their own.”
Reform UK, for its part, has kept its response short and sharp. A spokesperson confirmed the suspension was due to Edmunds posting about her plans to jump ship and said they wouldn’t be commenting further until the investigation wraps up.
So, less than a week after joining the council chamber, Edmunds finds herself in political limbo — a sign that even new parties promising fresh starts aren’t immune to the old drama of infighting and power struggles.
Yesterday I woke up feeling very proud to be one of Reform's 677 new councilors. This morning I woke up to an email from @reformparty_uk Head Office advising me that I have been suspended from the party "pending an investigation."
— Donna Rachel
Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend… pic.twitter.com/oiBFyeRh72(@Donna_Rachel_) May 4, 2025
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