The fortunes of Reform UK in Cambridgeshire have taken a sharp downturn following the quiet departure of county councillor Des Watt, just three months after his election victory.
Watt, who won the Yaxley and Farcet division for Reform in May, has switched his status at Shire Hall from Reform to non-aligned independent, according to an update to his register of interests dated August 1.
His exit leaves Reform with nine councillors, handing the Conservatives, now on ten, the title of main opposition to the ruling Liberal Democrats, who hold 31 of the 61 county council seats.
Watt has made no public comment about his decision, but his departure is an undeniable blow for Reform’s county organiser Ryan Coogan, who faces a crucial Fenland District Council by-election in Whittlesey next week.
The timing adds to the embarrassment after Coogan took to Facebook on Thursday to hail a Reform by-election success in Suffolk, writing:
“People so fed up with the lacking Lib Dems, they have voted for sanity and Reform instead. We can do this to bring the Sanity back to Cambridgeshire as well.”
Watt, a long-time Yaxley resident, was co-opted to Yaxley Parish Council earlier this year. At the time, the parish council described him as a respected community figure who had lived in the village since 1968 and run a local business until his retirement in 2021.
His resignation comes as Reform also grapples with controversy surrounding another of its county councillors. Cllr Andy Osborn, who represents Roman Bank and Peckover ward of Wisbech, is facing a code of conduct complaint after describing some children in care as “downright evil” during a council meeting in June.
Osborn told the children and young people’s committee that some youngsters in care were “not just naughty children—they can be downright evil,” citing examples of children “smashing cars up, running away from home, and on drugs.”
However the code of conduct complaint – whichever way it turns out – will likely prove a meaningless sanction if one is implemented as the council has no power to remove him.
Earlier this year the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, for example, confirmed a finding of a breach of the Combined Authority’s member code of conduct by Wisbech councillor Steve Tierney. It followed a hearing on January 28.
However the outcome – a request to Fenland District Council to not consider Tierney as a nominee for any position within the Combined Authority before municipal year 2026/27 – was ignored after a Conservative Mayor was elected in May.
For Reform, with one councillor quitting and another under investigation, the question is whether their once-boisterous push to establish itself as a serious force in Cambridgeshire politics now appears to be losing steam.
