Reform UK won its first ever London election this week with a victory in Bromley.
Alan Cook has become Reform’s first directly-elected London councillor after he won the Bromley Common and Holwood by-election on Thursday (July 24). However Reform does have one councillor in London already, due to Laila Cunningham jumping ship from the Conservatives in Westminster’s Lancaster Gate ward.
Cllr Cook was victorious in Bromley with 1,342 votes, with Conservative candidate Ian Payne the runner-up with 1,161 votes.
Third place went to Labour’s Elizabeth Morgan with 720 votes, while Liberal Democrat Laura McCracken gained 540 votes and was fourth. Ruth Fabricant for the Greens garnered 185 votes and came fifth.
The turnout in the by-election was 28 per cent.
Cllr Cook says he grew up in Bickley and has lived in Bromley for several years. Prior to being elected, he promised he would fight to cut waste and demand council transparency, protect local communities from crime, prevent development on the green belt and be a “strong, unrelenting voice” for residents.
He also said: “I am a father-of-two and following a successful career in the city, I am now determined to work hard to deliver Reform UK’s objective of effective local government, run in the interests of families, small businesses and the community as a whole.”
While campaigning for his Bromley Common and Holwood seat, Cllr Cook stated he wanted to “start the conversation” about splitting Bromley from the GLA (Greater London Authority) as he doesn’t believe Sadiq Khan’s policies for “high density, high rise, high traffic Central London” are a fit for the borough.
The Bromley Common and Holwood by-election was sparked by the death of the incumbent Conservative councillor Jonathan Laidlaw who passed away in May.
Cllr Laidlaw was elected to Bromley Council on May 6, 2022 and most recently served on the Pensions Committee, Rights of Way Sub-Committee and the Bromley Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).
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