Real Northumberland Murky: Tories Tagged Reform as ‘Nazi’s’ BBC shows Farage links with Epstein. Reform Councils in deep doodah As their DOGE program finds Jack.

Taking all of the above in context, what's happening across Northumberland now that panto season is upon us?

To look back over the last few months and answer the questions above the National Media system has we need to look at the run in to May 2025 local government elections.

Reform Northumberland in the name of Natalie Rolls began by posting a right leaning FOI on ‘what do they know’ pointing the finger at the Council’s involvement with the migrant dispersal scheme (link below) beginning the stirring of the South Beach spurtle spreading fear among locals.

Within a few short months of becoming the Council’s official opposition infighting among the Reform Group began to kick off publicly with low turnouts at meetings and Reform’s leader sitting silent at filmed Full Council meetings. —--- Revolt ensued.

The "revolt" in Northumberland refers to a recent period of internal chaos within the Reform UK party's local group, which led to the expulsion of three councillors in October 2025.

Two councillors, Nicole Brooke and Patrick Lambert, were expelled for allegedly breaching party rules by attempting to organize a no-confidence vote in the local group's leadership. Both councillors denied any wrongdoing and have since joined Northumberland County Council's Independent Group.

A third councillor, John Allen, was expelled after an investigation into online comments he allegedly made, which included statements about wanting to harm Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The anti-racism group Hope Not Hate brought these comments to light.

The expulsions reduced the total number of Reform UK councillors on Northumberland County Council from 23 to 20, though they remain the official opposition to the Conservative administration. The events have drawn national media attention and scrutiny regarding the party's internal governance and vetting processes.

Councillor Allen whose investigation appears to still be underway and may have to join his Council meeting from incarceration, resigned from his Ashington Town Council seat but retained his well paid seat on Northumberland County Council and sits as a sometimes attending ‘Independent’ Councillor.

Next was ‘whose balls are the biggest’ with social media illustrating the ‘he did it first’ spats between a Tory and a REFORM Councillor who both appeared to block off disabled parking bays in their respective Health Centre car parks with their unbelievably expensive boy toy motorhomes. Whichever Councillor was first doesn’t really matter to us codgers but it really does illustrate the type of person making decisions on this described by professionals as a fully dysfunctional council.

The infighting continued between REFORM members with close scrutiny by other fairness campaigners than Hope Not Hate, with ‘show racism the red card’ and REFORM Watch Northumberland keeping up the public pressure on social media. With a follower of these sites openly expressing the opinion that seems to be growing that REFORM SUPPORTERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN AT FOOTBALL GAMES AS PROFESSIONAL SPORTSPERSONS TAKE THE KNEE AGAINST THEIR RACIST COMMENTS AND ACTIVITIES.

The BBC then came in with a news story that may bring work for the builder politician Barry Elliott? As on BBC North-East news he was shown threatening to make a citizen's arrest of a reporter.

He mustn't watch or read much about prisons or have noticed that they are full to the gunnels, or is it that he wants to develop a site he may own to lock up citizens whom he doesn’t like?

But the BBC didn't only show this aggressive side of Councillor Elliott they told the Story of him not paying back his debts to aged customers he had scammed and the courts instructed him to pay back and like most things he hasn’t bothered to comply with the courts demands.

With the pressure on, the Tory led Council he represents took him to court to resolve his personal debts to them and society in general, that of non-payment of Council Tax and Business Rates. Its a story that's still running with the press with Elliott delivering his Geordies Overboard style once again.

There's currently a by-election following the resignation of a conservative councillor from Blyth Town Council, Labour are fielding a candidate Helen Lockyer who was brought up and lives centrally in the Ward. Reform are fielding a Tory who was so active in the Conservative Party he signed the nomination papers for Ian Levy the Blyth Valley Constituency Tory MP. It's strange how the world turns but the National Tory Chairman has labeled REFORM as Nazi’s so the choice is up to the people living in that ward, a ‘girl of the people’ who loves her community or an ex austerity party top supporter converted to fascism?

It’s been rumoured that the Tories on the county council are trying to pull a flanker by situating the polling station OUTSIDE THE WARD BOUNDARIES in some sort of hope their Councillor who lives in a different part of Blyth may pick up the outgoing councillors postal votes and keep a foothold for doginess going forward. We hope local people see through this veil of deceit?

We codgers wonder where the REFORM group on Northumberland County Council will go next as we hear they haven’t enrolled in the Bedlington panto group training led by a top local entertainer whose own fantastic panto is on a Consett Theatre this winter, but wherever it is it should be sitting on institutions that have been filled with fairness and positive understanding of Blyth communities needs and wants that are being twisted and not reformed by those with the loudest most aggressive voices.

NOTES:

https://www.gbnews.com/politics/nigel-farage-kevin-hollinrake-reform-uk-tories-nazi-party

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgy81jlxqgo

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/councillors-reforum-uk-nigel-farage-b2765359.html

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/10/06/reform-is-failing/

https://leftfootforward.org/2025/06/reform-brutally-mocked-after-unleashing-new-doge-team-on-first-council/

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/freedom_of_information_request_i_308

https://northeastbylines.co.uk/news/politics/chaos-engulfs-reform-uk-in-northumberland/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2prgw8nzeo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yj927wje5o

https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/09/19/starmer-john-allen-reform-uk/

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-county-councillor-launches-attack-32655993