Members at the first meeting of the branch Picture: Salisbury Reform UK

Reform UK Salisbury branch launches to be “voice of the public”

Tait ap EllisDecember 12, 20241 Comment1

REFORM UK has officially launched its Salisbury branch – and members plan to start hitting the streets in Salisbury to speak to voters ahead of the Wiltshire Council elections next year.

Around 30 people attended the first meeting of the branch on December 2 at the Old Sarum & Long Hedge Community Centre where members voted for a range of officer positions.

Business owner and Salisbury Chamber of Commerce director, Byron Logue, was voted in as the chairperson and Salisbury’s Deputy Mayor councillor Ed Rimmer – who defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK in June – has been confirmed as the deputy chair.

Lifelong Salisbury resident and retired company director Simon Lever was voted in as treasurer. Nigel Knowles, who spent 12 years as a parish councillor in Fovant, was announced as secretary and Jerry Wraith was voted in as the campaign coordinator.

Reform UK saw their best-ever result at this year’s General Election with the election of five MPs and more than four million votes, as many disillusioned Conservative voters put their trust in the party led by Nigel Farage and Richard Tice.

Reform UK fielded a candidate in Salisbury at the general election earlier this year, with Julian Malins finishing in fourth place with 5,235 votes – more than the Green Party, the Climate Party and Independent King Arthur Pendragon combined.

A spokesperson for Salisbury Reform UK said members attended the meeting as they are “concerned about the state of local and national politics in the UK.” Picture: Salisbury Reform UK

Mr Malins was in the national spotlight prior to the election after he said the Russian President Vladimir Putin “seemed very good”, later clarifying he meant the leader was a “good Russian president”, but not a good man “in the Christian sense”.

Mr Malins is no longer involved with Reform UK Salisbury, a spokesperson for the Salisbury branch said, adding that his campaign was not backed up by a formally established branch with officers.

A spokesperson for the new-look branch in Salisbury said members are aiming to hit the streets to speak to voters soon ahead of the upcoming Wiltshire Council elections on May 1, 2025.

Commenting on the launch of the branch, Mr Logue said: “Reform UK Salisbury are an insurgent force against the decades of neglect inflicted upon us by the legacy parties.

“We are the voice of the public who have declared that they will no longer accept diminishing services and ever-increasing taxes while their votes are taken for granted. Join us to declare that enough is enough!”

Deputy Mayor, Ed Rimmer, said: “Reform UK offers an alternative to the tired politics of the past.

“Our core aims relate to family, community and country and we want to represent people at all levels of UK government.

“In the 2025 Wiltshire Council elections, we offer a change of approach; we think that tax payers should see real value for money.”

Find out more about Reform UK Salisbury by visiting their website.