SECOND REFORM UK COUNCILLOR QUITS PARTY

A second Reform UK councillor has left the party, weeks after being elected. Steve Lewis, who became a councillor for Reform UK in Wakefield following elections on 7 May, has now resigned from the party. His departure follows an earlier exit by another Reform UK councillor. The reasons for Lewis's resignation have not been disclosed.

Reform UK stood candidates across England, Scotland and Wales in the May local elections. The party fielded a substantial number of candidates in the contest. Lewis's election as a Wakefield councillor represented one of Reform UK's gains in the local authority elections. His subsequent departure raises questions about retention of newly elected representatives.

The loss of a second councillor within weeks of the election cycle indicates challenges for the party in maintaining its elected membership. Reform UK has not yet commented publicly on Lewis's resignation. The timing of departures so soon after election victory is unusual for parties gaining representation in local government. Further information on the circumstances surrounding the resignation may emerge in due course.