100 Days of Reform in Sandwell: The Clock Is Already Ticking

Let me make one thing clear.

I want Reform to succeed in Sandwell.

After decades of Labour control, residents voted for change. Reform won 41 of the 72 seats and took control of the council.

That was a political earthquake.

But 100 days in, I am increasingly concerned that some within Reform are behaving as though they have four comfortable years to settle in.

They haven't.

The majority is far more fragile than it looks

Reform has 41 councillors.

It needs 37 for an outright majority.

And because of the way the 2026 whole-council election worked, 15 Reform-held seats are due to be contested again in 2027.

That means, without gains elsewhere, a net loss of just five seats could end Reform's majority control.

Five.

That's it.

So May 2027 isn't some distant political event.

The clock is already ticking.

They need to move faster

I fully accept Reform inherited a huge amount from the previous Labour administration.

Historic governance problems.

Housing issues.

Planning concerns.

Town centres.

SEND pressures.

Roads.

Enforcement.

Transparency.

Public confidence.

Nobody sensible expects all of that fixing in 100 days.

But residents do need to start seeing what Reform is actually changing.

Not just meetings.

Not just press releases.

Not just photographs of councillors pointing at things.

Results.

Because by next May, “we inherited it” won't carry quite the same weight.

Engage more — including with the awkward squad

This is where I think Reform needs to improve quickly.

Talk to people.

Answer emails.

Meet community groups.

Listen to residents.

Involve campaigners.

And yes — involve the people who ask awkward questions.

The so-called awkward squad.

I happily include myself in that category.

We can be annoying.

We ask where reports have gone.

We ask what things cost.

We ask why something hasn't happened.

We sometimes remind politicians about promises they would rather forget.

But there is another name for people like that.

An early-warning system.

And we generally don't charge consultancy fees.

Critical friends are not enemies.

If somebody wants Reform to succeed but tells them something isn't working, the answer shouldn't automatically be to shut the door.

Sometimes the person irritating you is actually trying to stop you walking into a wall.

Reform needs a public delivery plan

I would still like to see a simple:

REFORM SANDWELL — WHAT WE WILL DELIVER BY MAY 2027

Twenty or thirty clear priorities.

For each one:

What is the problem?
What are you doing?
Who's responsible?
What's the deadline?
What's the result?

Then publish progress.

Green.

Amber.

Red.

No waffle.

That would show residents that Reform isn't simply managing the council it inherited.

It is actually reforming it.

This is a friendly kick up the backside

Some will inevitably say this is “having a go at Reform”.

It isn't.

If I wanted Reform to fail, I'd sit quietly and watch mistakes happen.

I don't.

I want the political change residents voted for to succeed.

But that means recognising the reality.

41 seats sounds huge.

But Reform only has four seats to spare before its outright majority disappears.

With 15 Reform seats facing the electorate again in 2027, complacency would be madness.

So my message after the first 100 days is simple:

Speed up.

Engage more.

Listen more.

Bring people in.

Deal with the difficult stuff.

And don't be frightened of the awkward squad.

Because Reform's biggest threat in Sandwell may not ultimately be Labour.

It may be failing to make enough difference, quickly enough.

The opportunity is still there.

Don't waste it.

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