What Reform UK councils mean for climate

“Reform UK was the big winner of the 2026 local elections, winning 1,453 council seats in England alone. Edward de Quay and Pallavi Sethi . look back at the councils Reform won in 2025 as a guide to what the 2026 results will mean for climate policy. Enjoying this post? Then sign up to our newsletter and receive a weekly roundup of all our articles. In May 2025 Reform UK won majorities in 10 of 23 councils up for election in England. Among the party’s election promises were to “ scrap net zero to cut your energy bills ”. Seven of these councils have not “scrapped” their climate targets. Further, three have rescinded ‘Climate Emergency’ declarations, three have removed or restructured climate-related committees, and most have removed climate and carbon related language when updating documents. Although national opinion polls have been reflecting a changing electoral landscape following the Green Party’s win in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election on 26 February 2026, Reform UK have made significant gains in the Local elections of May 7. Reform UK gained more than 1,450 council seats in England, largely at Labour’s expense. Suffolk County Council was among Reform’s gains , having six seats on the council before May 7 it now has 41. June Mummery, one of the Reform councillors, has previously declared that “ There is no climate crisis ”. Voters should expect further backtracking on local climate action, with candidates having posted on X that they are, for example, “ passionate about educating people about the climate scam ”, “ calling out the climate change con ” or “ climate scaremongering ”, and stating that CO₂ “ has zero impact on temperature ”. Lessons from previous Reform wins As in 2025 , Reform UK local election leaflets for 2026 pledge to “ scrap crazy Labour-Tory Net Zero targets and cut your energy bills ” and to and “ use Britain’s oil and gas reserves to cut energy bills. ” On this basis, we should expect further debates around the removal of Climate Emergency Declarations and backtracking on climate action. Whilst Reform UK do not have an explicit position on climate change (statements disputing the existence of anthropogenic climate change were removed from its “Our Contract with You” document in 2024 when Nigel Farage became leader), our research indicates that the Party is returning to a stance that rejects the science on anthropogenic climate change. Table 1 from “The Reform UK party’s approach to climate change and net zero in local councils”. Our policy brief examines the Reform UK party’s approach to climate change and net zero in local councils since 2025, focusing on council debates discussing removal of climate targets and commitments, as well as party literature, press and social media. We found evidence of language that could be categorised as “ climate change denial ” in five councils. Most striking was Kent Council, who in September 2025 noted “the unproven view of anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change” in a motion to rescind the county’s Climate Emergency. Eight councils were found to have replaced mentions of climate change or decarbonisation in documents with, for example, “the environment”, “sustainability” or “energy efficiency”. For example, Kent County Council has replaced its Net Zero Plan with an Energy Efficiency Plan and Staffordshire’s Climate Emergency Declaration has given way to a “broader more practical” Environmental Strategy . This development is significant for local climate action, as until now most councils have been happy to progress and report on climate action voluntarily. By 2021, 75 per cent of local authorities in the UK had declared a “climate emergency” and 73 per cent of single and upper tier authorities in England had committed to carbon neutrality or net zero targets in the local authority area, of which 38 per cent set a deadline of 2030, 20 years earlier than the national target. How to keep local government engaged in net-zero While the role of local government in delivering national net zero targets is recognised as essential, the previous Conservative Government reasoned that local statutory targets were unnecessary, due to this high level of local commitment already being displayed. The lesson from a year of Reform UK administrations is that national government should no longer assume voluntary ambition at the local level to progress national legislative and policy goals on climate change. The research also identified inconsistencies in how Reform UK councils approach implementing ‘scrap net zero’, suggesting that there are still opportunities to maintain progress despite Reform UK’s national position. For example, whilst three Climate Emergency Declarations have been rescinded, three have not. North Northamptonshire council voted to remove the carbon neutral 2030 target but also “follows the national legal requirement of Net Zero emissions by 2050 , or sooner.” Reform-run West Northamptonshire council removed net zero targets, but is nonetheless enthusiastic about £2.6 million it has been allocated in Government Warm Homes: Local grant funding for energy saving home improvements. The framing is energy efficiency rather than net zero, but the contribution will be to both. To encourage local authorities to continue taking responsibility for emissions reductions, regardless of framing, we suggest priority should be given to standardising emissions monitoring and reporting guidance for local authority use. The experience of Kent County Council, which has retained emissions as a Key Performance Indicator, shows that this indicator can be welcome under the right circumstances. By contrast, Lancashire County Council resolved to ask its Cabinet to cease voluntary carbon reporting , highlighting the need for the Government to consider mandatory reporting. Given the vital role local authorities need to play in helping the UK reach its statutory target of net zero emissions by 2050, we also recommend that the Government should consider strategic options including incentives to promote progress, rather than assuming voluntary action. This could include focusing on areas of policy overlap that deliver on emissions without relying on a net zero framing, such as through the “Warm Homes: Local Grants”. Enjoyed this post? Sign up to our newsletter and receive a weekly roundup of all our articles. All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of LSE British Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Image credit: Sean Aidan Calderbank on Shutterstock The post What Reform UK councils mean for climate first appeared on LSE British Politics .

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