{"id":769068,"date":"2026-02-16T22:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T22:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/769068\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T22:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T22:04:19","slug":"east-london-borough-would-have-independence-vote-on-leaving-capital-under-reform-uk-nigel-farage-rally-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/769068\/","title":{"rendered":"East London borough would have ‘independence’ vote on leaving capital under Reform UK, Nigel Farage rally told"},"content":{"rendered":"

A major east London<\/a> borough would get an \u201cindependence<\/a>\u201d vote on remaining part of the capital under a Reform UK<\/a> government, an MP has vowed.<\/p>\n

Andrew Rosindell, who defected from the Tories to join Reform last month<\/a>, told the event in Romford that Havering<\/a> residents would get a choice to remain Londoners or rejoin Essex as a \u201cself-governing unitary authority\u201d if Nigel Farage were Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

The Romford MP told Reform UK supporters on Monday: \u201cWe are not east London<\/a>, we are Essex\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cTo change Havering<\/a>\u2019s status within Greater London and restoring our independence<\/a> from City Hall will require legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the next Reform UK Government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage<\/a>\u2026will give Havering a choice, a choice to break free of the Mayor of London and become a self-governing unitary authority once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as we were after the abolition of the GLC [Greater London Council], before Tony Blair imposed the GLA [Greater London Authority] and Mayor upon us. So Havering will get back control over the development of our town centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will rid ourselves of Ulez, which has been dividing up families and communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, it will ensure that policies decided for the people of this borough are made by the people of Havering. No more dictatorship from the Mayor of London or City Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Havering was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, combining the areas of the former Romford Borough Council and Hornchurch Urban District, which were both previously part of Essex.<\/p>\n

It is largely suburban \u2014 and is one of the greenest London boroughs\u2014 with more than of its land being Metropolitan Green Belt-protected.<\/p>\n

\"Nigel<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage outside Havering town hall ahead of the Romford rally (James Manning\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

\"Reform\u2019s<\/p>\n

Reform\u2019s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham (John Nguyen for London Standard)<\/p>\n

Mr Rosindell has long argued that under the GLA, Romford does not see enough policemen and its police stations have closed, constituents did not want to be a part of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) and have opposed \u201cplanning interference\u201d from the mayor.<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage<\/a> held the Monday evening Romford rally as Reform UK<\/a> seeks to win control of councils in east London at the May borough elections.<\/p>\n

His party\u2019s campaign for the local elections<\/a> in the capital will focus on crime, housing and immigration.<\/p>\n

Reform is seeking to recruit 1,800 candidates to stand in the borough elections.<\/p>\n

In an email to party members, encouraging them to stand, Reform\u2019s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham <\/a>said: \u201cOn May 7, Londoners will elect their local councillors, the people who decide how your borough is run day to day.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils control housing, planning, parking, licensing, waste collection, youth services, social care, and how your council tax is spent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decisions shape whether your street feels safe, your area is clean, and whether the people who\u2019ve paid in all their lives actually get something back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stressed that local authorities control who gets access to social housing.<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/p>\n

Sir Sadiq Khan (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many London councils have chosen to prioritise new arrivals over British families and veterans who\u2019ve contributed to this country all their lives,\u201d she claimed.<\/p>\n

Ms Cunningham, a Westminster councillor who defected from the Tories to Reform<\/a>, has also argued that London is unsafe due to the levels of crime.<\/p>\n

However, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan<\/a> has slammed Right-wing politicians who he accused of painting a \u201cdystopian picture of London as a city that\u2019s fallen\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n

The London Mayor tore into Reform and Tory politicians who he claimed \u201ccan\u2019t stand what London represents – a city that\u2019s diverse, progressive and thriving, with a Mayor who happens to be a Muslim\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also told ex-Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who defected to Reform, to \u201cstop being a pound shop version of Donald Trump<\/a>\u201d after he claimed London was unsafe and highlighted an encounter with a man who appeared like \u201che hadn\u2019t slept for a week\u201d and \u201clooked like somebody that might be violent\u201d.<\/p>\n

Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley has stressed that the number of murders recorded in London dropped last year to its lowest level per capita since records began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major east London borough would get an \u201cindependence\u201d vote on remaining part of the capital under a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[58501,748,10391,393,4884,31859,257,25229,384,386,31854,225191,16,15],"class_list":["post-769068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-andrew-rosindell","tag-britain","tag-east-london","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-havering","tag-london","tag-mayor-of-london","tag-nigel-farage","tag-reform-uk","tag-romford","tag-romford-borough-council","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116082577808610419","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}