Helen Harrison: Reform UK are pursuing a socialist agenda in North Northamptonshire

Cllr Helen Harrison is the Leader of the Conservative Group on North Northants Council

Back in May, when I was putting leaflets through doors warning people ‘Vote Reform, get Labour’, I was referring to the danger of Labour councillors getting elected due to the splitting of the right-of-centre vote. I did not envisage a Reform-run council being quite so left-wing and so eager to please Labour, Green Party and Lib Dems.

It all started off exactly as promised. The flying of Pride and Black History flags was banned. The scrapping of Net Zero targets was abandoned. But what has happened since then?

Everything quietened down and the Reform administration largely busied itself with implementing all the things that we, the previous Conservative administration, had started. Then I started to notice the language deployed by Reform in Full Council meetings was taking on the language of the left.

The clearest example of that drift is in their new policy to introduce a 100 per cent Council Tax Premium on second homes. Something we Conservatives refused to do. This is a discretionary power given to councils to help tackle the problem of people buying up second homes, in areas of high tourism, leaving them empty for large parts of the year, and impacting the ability of local people to buy homes as they are priced out of the market. North Northamptonshire does not have this problem.

As I explained to the Council when opposing this policy (Council – 11th December 2025), the most likely scenario in our area is when somebody buys or rents and second home in order to be closer to their place of work, whilst not disrupting their family life elsewhere, meaning that they are paying full Council Tax on their family home and, from April 2027, will be paying double Council Tax in North Northamptonshire. Doubly taxed for the same services as their neighbour. This policy won’t have the effect of bringing these homes back onto the market; it will just unfairly add extra taxes to some people living here.

Let’s look at how the Reform Executive described the policy. Cllr Graham Cheatley, Executive Member for Finance, Efficiency and Change, claimed that:

“It ensures fairness for residents who fund services but do not own second or unused properties.”

Cllr Kirk Harrison, Executive Member for Regulatory Services, said:

“This proposal is not iniquitous, it’s practical, proportionate and in the best interests of all our residents.”

And, better still, Cllr Brian Benneyworth, Executive Member for Health and Leisure claimed it would:

“…help reduce homelessness …a step forward meeting a housing need and creating stronger and more vibrant communities.”

At no point do any of these councillors explain how taxing some North Northamptonshire residents double for the same services as their neighbours will ‘ensure fairness’, ‘reduce homelessness’ or ‘create stronger, more vibrant communities’, but I’m sure that cloaking themselves in the soft, emotive language of the left made them feel moral and good. Where have we seen that before?

At no point did any Reform councillor show any concern about the obvious unfairness of this double taxation on people moving here to work. At no point did any one of them show any cognition of the fact that these people might now be put off getting a home locally and spending money in our local economy.

At no point did anyone of them admit the truth – that this was an opportunistic tax grab to fill holes in the budget.

Until they accidentally did. Here is Cllr Martin Griffiths, Leader of the Council:

“We have difficult choices to make. I would point out that other Reform councils have adopted this scheme, be under no illusion, if we do not adopt this policy, something will have to go as we aim to deliver a balanced budget.”

In response to me pointing out that they had promised to reduce taxes during the local elections – ‘Reform did promise to reduce tax, and in government it will reduce tax.’

And, in response to my point that Nigel Farage had said such policies were ‘madness and extortion’, he said ‘this council is controlled from Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and North Northamptonshire and not from Westminster’

So, there you have it! Reform in North Northants are just another bunch of tax raising, social justice warriors.

Needless to say, the Second Homes Premium, as well as being supported by every Reform councillor, was supported by Labour, the Greens and the one Liberal Democrat. All Conservative councillors and an Independent councillor, who was until very recently a Conservative, voted against. I’m sure Nigel Farage will be so proud!

When I warned back in May, ‘Vote Reform, get Labour’ I didn’t realise quite how accurate that would turn out to be!