Opposition group leader rules out switch to Reform UK

Bruce Sinclair, local democracy reporter

A county council’s main opposition group has ruled out jumping to Reform UK after it was revealed the leader of the group and other members recently attended a Reform social event in Carmarthen.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s main opposition group, the 21-strong Independent Group (IPG), is led by Cllr Huw Murphy; the council itself run by a coalition which includes unaffiliated members, Labour, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrats.

The recent July 18 Reform ‘social,’ held at the Ivy Bush Hotel, Carmarthen, was listed as a members-only event.

A source told the Local Democracy Reporting service that at least four county councillor members of the IPG, including Cllr Murphy attended.

Concerns

This raised concerns about whether the IPG members were actual Reform members or whether they were supporting the party, or that members could even be contemplating joining.

None of the councillors who attended the event declared support in their members’ register of interests.

Cllr Murphy, who became leader of the IPG last year, responded to the speculation by stating: “Part of the decision-making process for many councillors is to listen to the views of political parties who govern or may govern us. Since being elected I have attended a Plaid Cymru conference (Aberystwyth), attended a talk by Mark Drakeford in Newport and recently I attended a Reform meeting in Carmarthen.

“I am not a member of any political party and all meetings I have attended to date I have not spoken; I attend to listen and by listening it’s clear that there is a desire for change, through the failures of the two main parties of British politics over the past 100 years, namely the Conservatives and Labour, both promising better but rarely deliver, always blaming others, never taking responsibility, hence the rise of Reform and Plaid Cymru.”

Strong opposition

He added: “All administrations need strong opposition, and we have that in Pembrokeshire in the Independent Group. I made clear on becoming group leader in 2024 that we will not oppose for opposition’s sake but oppose polices that have a negative impact on residents and strive to use taxpayers’ monies in a responsible manner, which we did this year during budget discussions.

“The advantage of being an Independent councillor is the ability to listen and represent the views of your community free from political party tribalism, so would an independent voice in the Senedd articulate the concerns of residents better than those representing political parties.”

Cllr Murphy later said of any of the group being Reform members: “I can’t speak for the others, but I would be surprised in the extreme.”

Defecting

On the issue of any IPG members defecting to Reform, or even the party becoming a Reform group, he added: “I can’t see that happening, not at all; there’s no likelihood of that, we are an independent group and I can’t see anything changing in the future.

“We’ve attended as members of the public, as independent councillors, sometimes we may agree with speakers and sometimes not. I never spoke, I just sat there.

“We went, so what? I’m sure some people would say ‘good for you’ and some would say ‘how dare you?’. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”