Six moves Reform has made since taking power in Essex

Senior Reform UK councillors in Essex appear to have wasted no time in trying to make their mark since taking control of the county council.

The party overthrew the Conservatives, who had been in power for 25 years, in May's local elections, and it now has 53 seats.

From singing the National Anthem at council meetings to declaring war on local government reorganisation, newly elected members have been quick to shake things up.

A month on from their election, what has the new administration done or pledged to do?

Top of the agenda forReform appears to be the state of Essex's roads.

At the first meeting of the full council, leader Peter Harris declared a "pothole emergency" and vowed to develop an action plan to improve the county's highways.

"The current state of our roads is not good enough," he said, adding that staff "need to change how we work".

Essex, which has nearly 5,000 miles of roads, has had the highest number of claims for pothole compensation (8,658) in the East of England over the past five years.

It cost the authority £504,666 in payouts.

Reform has said its pothole repair crews will increase from nine to 12, ensuring each district in Essex has its own team.

It promiseddefects that were previously considerednon-urgent would be fixed within 90 days.

The council pledged £7.5m to tackle this "emergency", saying the money was "being found within existing resources".

The council has a backlog of almost 31,000 defects in Essex. It completed 12,000 repairs under the previous Tory leadership between April 2025 and March.

Harris criticised what he called "net stupid zero" policies, announcing that any such strategies would be scrapped.

He said it was "nuts" to think the local authority could help to stop climate change, adding: "It's been happening for millions of years."

Scientists say that while the planet has been hot before, even as far back as 92 million years ago, human activity has accelerated warming rapidly since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

Reaching net-zero CO2 emissions is essential to limit global warming, according to the UN.

Essex County Council had committed £45.7m to climate-focused activities for 2026-27, prior to Reform taking control.

• What is net-zero and is the UK on track to achieve it?

Those activities included making homes more energy-efficient, flood management and improving bus services.

The council is also due to spend millions on the countryside and on electric vehicle charging points next year, while money from an £11.9m recarbonisation scheme grant needs to be spent by the end of 2027.

However, deputy council leader Russell Quirk said: "The quest for net-zero is fatally expensive and, ironically, unsustainable."

A council spokesman said a full review of its activities –which has included a czar and a commission dedicated to climate change – was under way.

Climate change expert and glaciologist Prof Martin Siegert told the BBC it could lead to costly mistakes.

"When we're not talking about insulating our homes properly, that will be even more energy that's spent on heating them and then cooling them in the summertime as well," he said.

"If we're not talking about installing heat pumps and we're not talking about solar panels, that will mean we do not get cheap energy bills."

The council's list of financial commitments to tackling climate change, as of last September, can be found here.

Libraries appear to have been at the forefront of Reform's mind since taking over.

Library staff have been told to scale back their support for events including Pride and Black History Month.

Chris Hossack, the cabinet member for residents and community services, said he wanted Essex's 74 libraries to be "neutral spaces" for all and no event should be promoted or favoured over another.

But the decision has received backlash. Conservative councillor Ross Playle branded it "Orwellian" and Save Our Libraries Essex said it was "bigotry".

Another move made by the new administration was to scrap library charges, weeks after they were first introduced.

In April, the Tories had imposed a £1.15 fee for adults wishing to reserve books

In comparison, county councils in Kent (£1.10), Norfolk (60p) and Cambridgeshire (50p) all have charges, while Suffolk does not.

It was estimated the move could have generated about £150,000 a year in Essex, helping to cover the cost of transporting books.

Between September 2024 and 2025, 427,422 items were moved between a warehouse and libraries following reservations.

However, 32,842 of them were never collected.

The council said this created unnecessary staff and transports costs, while also taking items out of circulation.

Within days of becoming leader, Harris removed the charge and branded it "a tax on reading and learning".

His team have said no cuts will be made elsewhere as a result of this decision.

The Ukrainian flag was removed from outside County Hall a week after Reform took control.

It was replaced by a union jack, meaning two now fly outside the offices in Chelmsford.

The move follows national Reform policy to have only union, national, county or armed forces flags outside council buildings.

Harris said it did not "diminish the support and generosity that Essex residents have shown the people of Ukraine", and he said that would continue.

In response, Tory group leader Lee Scott warned the flag's removal could encourage "pro-Kremlin politics" locally.

It has not yet been decided where the Ukrainian flag will go, but 830 Ukrainian "guests" and 311 sponsors were emailed about the issue on the day it was taken down.

Speaking on BBC Essex, Quirk said one of the consultees, the president of the Ukrainian society at the University of Essex, "wholeheartedly" backed the decision.

However, when contacted by the BBC, the president denied ever being consulted about it.

A council spokesman said Ukrainian people had been in touch suggesting where the flag should go. He also said support for the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme remained.

Led by Harris, Reform is mounting an attack against local government reorganisation (LGR), vowing to use legal action to block it.

In a letter to Communities Secretary Steve Reed, the council leader said the "proposals are ill-thought, expensive and purely ideological in nature".

A model of five all-purpose councils in Essex was backed by the government in March, replacing the current two-tier structure of 15 local authorities.

The government said the shake-up, planned for councils across England in 2028, would help meet housebuilding targets and reform public services.

It has not yet responded to the letter written by Harris.

"I am calling for urgent discussions as the current reorganisation timeline, costs and risks to vital services – particularly social care – are unsustainable and threaten our ability to protect the most vulnerable residents," he said.

His tone appeared to contrast with his views in January, when he told the BBC: "LGR is going to happen. We need to get behind it and make sure that it happens."

All full council meetings will now start with the Lord's Prayer and end with the National Anthem being sung.

Reform councillor Jaymey McIvor said other parties had overseen "the erosion of civic patriotism, and Reform are bringing it back".

It was a decision taken by the council's leadership rather than being put to a vote, as at Kent County Council.

The move has split opinion among opposition parties.

Conservative councillor Andrew Schrader said he was happy to get behind the move, but warned people would want to see results over "eye-catching stuff".

Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson added residents wanted "actions rather than symbols".

The next full council meeting is due to take place on 14 July.

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