By Cameron Blackshaw
Reform UK won its first ever London election this week with a victory in Bromley.
Alan Cook has become Reform’s first directly-elected councillor in the capital after he won the Bromley Common and Holwood by-election yesterday (July 24).
Alan Cook has become Reform’s first directly-elected London councillor after he won the Bromley by-election on Thursday (July 24). Photo: Bromley Council
However. Reform does already have three councillors in London already, including Laila Cunningham who jumped 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 added: “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 Greater London Authority (GLA) as he doesn’t believe Sadiq Khan’s policies for “high density, high rise, high traffic Central London” are a fit for the borough.
Bromley became part of the GLA on April 1, 1965, as part of the London Government Act 1963.
This act restructured London’s administration and created the capital’s existing 32 London boroughs, transferring areas like Bromley from the historic county of Kent to Greater London.
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).