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Reform still 'optimistic' of leading Cornwall Council

Seb Noble
BBC Cornwall political reporter
BBC A man with grey hair in a grey jacket with a blue shirt and dark blue tie standing in front of County Hall in TruroBBC
Rob Parsonage is remaining optimistic he can put together a new adminstration

Reform UK is still optimistic of being able to form an administration to take charge of Cornwall Council, its local leader says.

The party needs to work with other groups to take control of the authority after winning the most seats - but not a majority - at last week's local elections.

Other parties indicated they would not be willing to work with Reform and rejected suggestions excluding them would be "undemocratic."

The leader of the Reform group in Cornwall, Rob Parsonage, said he would continue with talks to reach a compromise ahead of a vote on the next authority leader later this month.

Party 'rebuffed'

The council is under no overall control after the elections.

Reform won 28 of the 87 seats - well short of the 44 needed for a majority to win votes in the chamber.

Since then, the party said it had been rebuffed by offers to work with the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrat groups.

Labour and the Lib Dems said they did not share Reform's values.

However, Parsonage said he had renewed hope following discussions on Tuesday with other councillors.

He said: "When you talk to some of the people, they actually agree with some of our policies. So I don't think it's a done deal.

"We can find compromise and move forward. I'm always optimistic."

A woman with short blond hair and glasses in a black dress with a red rosette standing in a sports hall.
Labour's Kate Ewert has rejected suggestions Reform should be part of the next administration

Reform claimed it would be "undemocratic" if it was not part of the next administration - despite being the largest party on the authority.

However, Labour group leader Kate Ewert rejected this suggestion.

She said: "There are 59 other councillors represented by other parties this chamber. To me, that is the democratic will of Cornwall.

"More people voted to not have a Reform councillor in Cornwall than voted to have a Reform councillor. So I don't think that would be undemocratic."

'First bite of the cherry'

The Lib Dems were the second largest group on the council, with 26 seats after last week's vote.

However, they would need more than one party to support them to form an administration.

Group leader Leigh Frost said they were ready to step in if Reform could not find the numbers for a majority.

"Reform have the first bite of the cherry. However, if there comes an opportunity we will have conversations with group leaders to find a way forward," he said.

Adam Paynter, leader of the Independents group of 16 councillors, said: "I hope to speak to the Reform leader in the next few days."

The Greens, who won three seats, said it was too early to comment, and Mebyon Kernow, also with three members, said it had not been involved in any discussions yet.

The Conservatives, who have seven seats, have also been approached for comment.

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