Six new members join Reform UK's party board

Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns and former chairman Zia Yusuf are among the new board members

Reform UK has added six new members to the party's decision-making board, including Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns and former chairman Zia Yusuf.

Three of the board members, Gawain Towler, Darren Grimes and Dan Barker, were elected by the party's membership in a vote with a turnout of 67,255.

Dame Andrea, Yusuf and Paul Nuttall, a former Ukip member of the European Parliament, were chosen to join the board by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Reform UK chairman David Bull said the board election was an "important milestone" that continued "the democratisation of the party".

"I'm extremely grateful to all our fantastic candidates – you have done our party proud," Bull said in a message to party members.

Reform UK said 17 candidates had been vying for a place on the board, which it describes as the "party's most important decision-making body".

The creation of a board is written into Reform UK's constitution, which was adopted at the party's conference in Birmingham last year.

Reform UK was founded as a private limited company, with Farage holding the majority of shares.

But last year, Reform UK said it would overhaul how it was run and give members more of a say over decisions, as part of a drive to democratise and professionalise the party.

The constitution says the board's powers include managing the party's funds, advising the leader on political matters, and approving policies and manifestos.

Board members also have a role in overseeing the party's disciplinary procedures.

Towler, who was sacked as the party's communications director last year, thanked all members who took part in the board election.

In a post, he wrote: "Now we have to crack on and provide the hard work that will take this great movement further. Onwards and upwards."

A former Conservative candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, Barker defected to Reform UK last year, accusing his former party of "giving up" on the north of England.

On X, he said the board election was "a truly historic moment".

"The work starts here," Barker said. "This board has the responsibility of laying the foundations for victory: to prepare, to organise, and to ensure we are ready to take back control of our great nation after decades of failure."

Barker and the other five new members join Farage and Bull, who were already members of the board.

But Ben Habib, a former Reform UK deputy leader who quit the party last year citing differences with Farage, said the board of directors was meant to act as a check on the leadership and argued none of those elected were independent of Farage.

"The whole board therefore is in Farage's control," Habib said. "There are no checks and balances within Reform."

There has been disquiet about the vetting of candidates and party governance among elements of the membership at the grassroots.

Reform UK says it has 234,642 members and hundreds of local branches across the country.

The party has four Westminster MPs and won control of 10 councils in May's local elections. It is currently leading national opinion polls.