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A newly elected Reform councillor admitted that she has no idea what she is voting for.
Kirklees council were trying to elect their new leader with Reform having 29 councillors, just six short of an overall majority.
Reform put forward Cllr Sarah Wood to be a potential leader and take on a Greens-led coalition forming against them.
But the Conservative group refused to vote for the Greens leaving a stalemate in the chamber.
One councillor suggested a ‘head-to-head’ vote between Green’s Andrew Cooper and Wood – which would need standing orders to be suspended so the council could question the candidates in a debate.
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But Reform complained that their opponents were ‘playing political games’ on the ‘ignorance” of the new Reform councillors.
Cllr Wood admitted, in a viral clip, ‘I do not understand the constitution. I have not had sufficient time to read that as yet. I don’t understand what standing orders are, what they’re made up of, nor do I understand what an amendment is.’
She added: ‘I suggest there is a possibility that we might vote for something that we don’t understand at the moment.
‘We don’t understand the constitution, we don’t understand the standing orders.
‘We are at a disadvantage, we do not necessarily know what we are voting for and therefore this we consider not to be a democratic process.’
Fellow Reform councillor Rob Butler agreed, saying: ‘We are being manoeuvred with a game play when we do not know the rules and I do not think that is right.’
Eventually a vote was taken on whether there should be a ‘head-to-head’ vote which would have given a chance for Cllr Wood to become leader on Wednesday night but even Reform voted against it and it was defeated.
Finally the meeting was adjourned until Thursday May 28 for the council to try again to elect a leader.
Independent councillor Tanisha Bramwell said the altercation was ‘appalling’ after she confronted Cllr Wood in the chamber.
She said: ‘A lot of their supporters have commented to us and said, “How can they be expected to know that they’re only two weeks in?”
‘I absolutely agree with that. They deserve breathing space, so that they can learn the ropes as a councillor. They should also acknowledge the fact that if they’re not there yet in meeting the requirements of being a basic councillor, surely they are not meeting the requirements to be the leader of our council.
‘Kirklees council has had poor leadership and negligence, and these people were voted out in May of 2026.’
She added: ‘We cannot afford any more incompetence. We’ve lost everything: council tax increases, youth opportunities and social housing.
‘It is so important we have the correct people leading us in that council and in charge of those positions, because when we don’t, it affects us, our families, and the people we love, and we can’t have it anymore.’
Advice for Reform
What is a standing order?
A standing order in a council meeting is a formal rule that governs how the meeting is run. It is permanent. For example ‘Councillors must raise their hand if they wish to speak’ to keep meetings orderly.
What is an amendment?
In a council meeting, an amendment is a change proposed to a motion before it is voted on. It is a way to tweak the motion before it becomes final.
What is the constitution?
The council’s constitution is its rulebook that binds everything together. It details how decision making powers work, the codes of conduct councillors must follow, the rights of the public to participate and financial budgets.
Reform won more than 1,400 seats in the local elections earlier this month, but it has already lost 22 councillors in the two weeks since.
Stuart Prior, who was elected to Essex County Council and Rochford District Council, resigned on May 11, just days after he won the seats.
Before the elections, it was found that Prior had shared racist posts on social media, in which he referred to white people as ‘the master race’ with larger brains.’
Less than a week after being elected, Glenn Gibbins was similarly suspended from Sunderland City Council after he suggested the city’s Nigerian residents should be melted down to ‘fill in potholes.’
Speaking on BBC’s Politics North, deputy leader of Durham County Council Darren Grimes said the incident had been ‘a failure of the vetting process’.
Gibbins apologised, writing: ‘A number of years ago, prior to standing for election and before joining Reform UK, I made a series of posts on my personal Facebook profile which were intended as jokes, but were made in extremely poor taste and with poor judgement.
‘I fully recognise that these comments were entirely inappropriate and I sincerely apologise to anyone who may have been offended by them. The posts do not reflect my personal beliefs or values, and I regret both the language used and the offence caused.’
Reform UK has been approached for comment.