Reform UK is plotting a “day of reckoning” for Sir Keir Starmer in a Labour-run town this May after voters were denied the opportunity to go to the polls to vote for their local councillors.
Basildon Borough Council, which has been run by Labour’s Gavin Callaghan since 2024, confirmed its decision to postpone its elections amid a reorganisation of local government.
Tory-run Essex County Council was also accused of sending an “ambiguous” letter to Housing Secretary Steve Reed, sparking fears of elections being delayed for a second consecutive year.
However, with Mr Reed confirming Essex’s vote will go ahead on May 7, Basildon now has the opportunity to make its voice heard by electing nine councillors to the county council in Chelmsford.
Sam Journet, who leads Reform UK’s two-councillor team in Basildon, told GB News: “Reform is rising and May 7 is a day of reckoning for the other parties, especially the Conservatives and Labour.
“We’re going to be doing everything in our power to deliver Reform to Essex County Council — canvassing, leafleting, engaging with residents, but most importantly listening to them.”
Reform UK finished third in the parliamentary seat of Basildon & Billericay in the 2024 General Election, trailing Tory MP Richard Holden by 1,551 votes.
However, the Essex seat is known as one of Britain’s most competitive bellwether constituencies, switching from Margaret Thatcher’s Tories to New Labour.
Basildon Borough Council has also been regarded as a hotly contested race, staying mostly Labour-run from 1973 to 2000, before being taken by the Tories from 2002 to 2024.
Labour holds 16 of the 42 seats, with seven independent councillors helping to prop up Cllr Callaghan’s administration.
But Basildon has also proved fertile ground for Reform UK since the 2024 General Election, with Cllr Journet and Sarah-Jane Shields claiming victories in by-elections held last year.
The Essex seat is known as one of Britain’s most competitive bellwether constituencies, switching from Margaret Thatcher’s Tories to New Labour
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Cllr Journet, who won his St Martins ward by a margin of almost 10 per cent, suggested Reform’s by-election triumphs had sent shivers down Labour’s spines.
“They couldn’t beat us at the ballot box in St Martins, so they’re trying to remove the ballot box this May,” he said.
However, Cllr Journet is now confident that Reform UK can deal Labour a bloody nose by targeting the nine Basildon wards up for grabs on Essex County Council.
He said: “The Essex County Council Elections, especially after they were cancelled last year by the Conservatives, is going to be a big focus for us.
“You only have to look at the opinion polls locally, especially around Basildon, we will be doing very, very well.
“And I’m expecting to deliver all nine seats in Basildon, though obviously as someone who has the position of a borough councillor.”
Support for Reform UK in Basildon has surged since the 2024 General Election
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A local Reform source suggested the Tories could collapse from 50 seats to just four based on the party’s internal polling.
GB News understands Reform UK’s local branch has around 300 members, with star-studded guests expected to attend upcoming events to motivate Mr Farage’s footsoldiers ahead of May 7.
“We have been peacetime campaigning over the past year, and are now very hungry to fight elections,” former branch chair Tom Allison said.
He added: “We know from this period of repeated leafleting and canvassing that the doorsteps want Reform, and the Essex County Council elections will give us a long overdue chance to prove it, even if the Labour-controlled Basildon Borough Council is running scared.”
A Reform UK source also claimed that Labour’s support in Basildon has “evaporated” since the 2024 General Election, describing the decision to delay the council election as the “final nail in the coffin” for Sir Keir in the town.
Polling conducted by JL Partners shows the drastic shift since the 2024 Local Elections.
Reform UK is building its branch in Basildon & Billericay, with GB News understanding the party has more than 300 members in the area
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REFORM UK
Reform UK is now polling at 36 per cent, opening up a double-digit lead over the Tories and some 15 points clear of Labour in third.
“Residents across Basildon are disgusted that Labour has delayed the election,” a Reform source told GB News.
“This is evident in the recent response online and on the doorsteps since last May, when the Essex County Council elections were cancelled.”
Tensions boiled over in Basildon earlier this week when the Labour-run council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss its decision to stop polls opening on May 7.
More than 50 residents sat in the public gallery, with more left waiting outside in the rain as the room reached capacity.
The meeting was postponed due to “general disturbance”, with Cllr Callaghan claiming a council officer had been “left in floods of tears”.
Cllr Journet, Reform UK and several Conservative councillors in attendance rejected Cllr Callaghan’s account of events.
Gavin Callaghan alongside Sir Keir Starmer
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Reform UK’s Basildon Council leader instead alleged he was assaulted by security.
Following Thursday’s extraordinary meeting, Cllr Journet told GB News: “Basildon is waking up as a political force.
“That is exactly the reason why Labour tried to shut it down, because it’s quite clear that when the public shows up, Labour will pull the plug, and they did.”
However, the decision to cancel elections slated for May 7 is not just impacting Sir Keir’s standing in Basildon.
Cllr Journet described Cllr Callaghan as a “dictator”, later labelling the Basildon Centre “the council building of Pyongyang”.
“People don’t trust him, they don’t believe him, and this is the reason they want change,” Cllr Journet added.
“They don’t want change in 2027, they don’t want change in 2028, they want change now.”
Sam Journet spoke to GB News after Thursday’s council meeting
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X – @REFORMUKSAMCllr Journet also called on Cllr Callaghan to resign as leader of Basildon Borough Council.
However, Cllr Callaghan defended the decision to postpone elections.
He said: “This is not a minor administrative exercise, it is the largest restructure of local Government in Essex since 1974, and the risks are not abstract.
“Against that backdrop, the Government has repeatedly recognised across multiple reorganisations that election postponement may be necessary to preserve capacity.
“Residents will vote again in 2027 for the councils that will actually exercise long-term power; what the Secretary of State has done is postponed a single election to a council that is already scheduled for abolition.
“What has been preserved is the ability to deliver a lawful, safe and cost-effective transition.”
Sir Keir Starmer during a campaign rally ahead of the 2024 General Election | GETTY
Critics point out that there would be no extra cost to holding an election beyond printing additional ballot papers for the 14 wards that were due to hold votes on May 7.
Mr Reed has also rejected the suggestion that cancelling votes for 4.6 million Britons is denying democracy.
Speaking to GB News last month, the Housing Secretary said: “It’s not denying democracy… It’s speeding up elections to the new councils that will replace the councils that are being closed down. And I think that is sensible.”
He added: “It’s the biggest reorganisation of local government in decades. One-third of the country have duplicate councils, so two tiers of councils.
“So, two sets of councillors, two sets of chief picks, two sets of finance directors and public money has to go and pay for all of this duplication. So we’re streamlining that with a single tier of councils everywhere.”
Essex County Council cancelled its elections in 2025, with Mr Farage admitting Reform UK had made the contest one of its top targets.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed defended the decision to cancel elections
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PAKevin Bentley, who leads Essex County Council, faced further fury after it emerged he had sent a letter to Mr Reed suggesting a second delay might be needed.
Despite not being included in the initial list of local authorities which requested a delay, Mr Reed refused to delay elections in Essex County Council after a second letter was sent.
Mr Reed said: “In reaching my decision I placed particular weight on the fact that the Council has not made a clear and unambiguous case for postponement through its formal representations and your repeated statements that the Council would not be seeking postponement.”
Cllr Bentley added: “As previously announced, the Government has reiterated that Essex County Council elections due to take place in May 2026 will go ahead as planned.
“Election planning is well underway. We will now consider how we can effectively manage resources to support the system-wide preparations for Local Government Reorganisation, alongside elections in May.”
Nigel Farage during the campaign trail in Clacton-on-Sea | PA
However, a Reform source suggested Labour and the Tories had been “colluding” to try to minimise Mr Farage’s gains in the 2026 Local Elections.
“The uniparty is doing what it can to avoid their inevitable annihilation in the area,” the local Reform source told GB News.
Harlow will join Basildon in postponing its borough council elections on May 7, although it will return councillors to Essex County Council.
Meanwhile, voters in Labour-run Thurrock have been denied the opportunity to go to the polls for a second consecutive year.
Polling conducted by JL Partners suggests Reform UK would have received 40 per cent of the vote in Thurrock, with Labour dropping to just 19 per cent.