Lancashire's new Reform leader on why party is 'not racist', how come cabinet is all-male - and a 'common sense' approach to decisions

Stephen Atkinson was speaking as he officially took the helm at County Hall on Thursday afternoon, when councillors of all political colours gathered for the first full meeting since the local elections.

He said Reform’s resounding victory at the polls in Lancashire earlier this month - which saw the party secure 53 of the county council’s 84 seats - gave his group “a mandate for change”, on which it intended to deliver.

County Cllr Atkinson said the party’s guiding principle in Lancashire would be to judge each policy move by asking the question: “Does the decision we are taking make life better for the residents of Lancashire?”

“If the answer is yes, we do it,” he declared, ushering in what he said would be a “common sense” approach.

The new county council leader - who had already been chosen to head up the Reform group last week - was elected by the chamber 'without objections', rather than by a formal vote.

The new Reform cabinet was also unveiled at the authority’s annual general meeting - where it quickly became apparent that the top table was to be an all-male line-up. Nine of the broader Reform group are women.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting, County Cllr Atkinson defended what he said was the outcome of a process designed to ensure the right people got the top jobs.

“We had an academic, who is one of our councillors, forensically analyse people’s skills and CVs and blindly put [forward] the people who were the best qualified or best experienced for the roles.

“I’m sure, as we get to know people in the group, that we can revisit that if we've got opportunities - but we are absolutely clear we want the best people to do the job,” he said.

A protest spearheaded by the Lancashire Association of Trades Union Councils [LATUC] was staged outside County Hall ahead of the meeting. As the LDRS revealed on Wednesday, the demonstration was intended to show LATUC would “not take any attack against minorities, trade unions or our communities lying down”.

Dozens of people - some from groups other than trade unions - gathered bearing placards which read, “Say no to Reform UK” and “Stop the far right”.

Amidst speeches deriding Reform policies were regular chanting interludes, including, “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here.”

Last week, speaking on the subject of asylum hotels and other accommodation, County Cllr Atkinson said he would be making it clear to the Home Office that the people of Lancashire "did not vote for asylum seekers to come here”.

Several speakers at Thursday's protest denounced Reform at a national and local level as a “racist” party - while some stressed they did not believe all Reform voters fitted that descrption.

Asked by the LDRS how he would defend Reform against those charges, County Cllr Atkinson cited the fact that the party’s chair, Zia Yusuf, is a Muslim - and that the party has Muslim and Jewish candidates.

“What we do have in common is that we love this country, we’re worried about the future of this country [and] we want this country to succeed - so I think it’s wrong to call us racist.

Pressed as to why some people had that opinion of the party, he added: “The Overton window has moved so far left that what used to be traditional patriotism is now called ‘right wing’ - and it’s not. Margaret Thatcher wouldn't recognise the Conservative Party [today].

“Reform councillors have put their head up above the parapet, they have faced this abuse - [and] they've done it out of a sense of duty to the future of the country,” County Cllr Atkinson said.

Meanwhile, in his speech in the chamber, he acknowledged what he said were the “many challenges” his group had inherited - namely, "adult social care, SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] provision, balancing the budget…and crumbling roads”.

He told the LDRS the cabinet would now need time to go through the books and plan its policies.

He added that it was “a big responsibility" to be accountable for delivering services to the 1.2 million people in the county council’s patch.