Reform UK Election Pledges – Bexhill & Battle - Bexhill and Battle Labour Party

20th July, 2026

Back in May, following their success in the East Sussex County Council elections, I wrote to Victoria Carson — Chair of the local Reform UK party and newly elected county councillor for Bexhill South — with a series of detailed questions about the specific pledges Reform UK made to residents during the campaign.

Cllr Carson replied courteously, but did not answer the substantive questions. She suggested the answers would emerge through the normal work of the council going forward. I wrote back to make clear that scrutiny processes are for examining what councillors do in office — but accountability for specific election promises is a matter for the public, not just for council committees. I also indicated that if I did not receive answers, I would write directly to the relevant Reform UK cabinet member for each pledge area.

I have heard nothing further. So today I have written to each of the following Reform UK cabinet members and representatives with the outstanding questions:

Cllr Peter Griffiths — on the pledge to fix the roads
Cllr Mark Estcourt — on the pledge to fix social care
Cllr Andy Wolley (Leader of ESCC) — on the pledge to publish all council spending over £500 and senior staff salaries
Cllr Paul Soane — on the pledge for better education oversight
Cllr Dan Bradley (Reform UK’s sole RDC councillor) — on the pledges to guarantee bin collections, improve recycling, and strengthen environmental enforcement

We are now over two and a half months into the Reform UK administration. Cabinet members are in post. Officers have had the opportunity to brief them. Residents who voted for these pledges deserve to know how they will be delivered — with what powers, by whom, and funded from where.

I will share the responses as and when I receive them.

Please see copies of my correspondence below.

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Pebsham & St Michaels Ward

Reform UK Election Pledge – Fix the Roads Properly

Dear Cllr Griffiths,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the Reform UK Cabinet Member responsible for highways at East Sussex County Council.

Following the May 2026 county council elections, I wrote to Victoria Carson, Chair of the local Reform UK party and county councillor for Bexhill South, on 18th May 2026 with a series of questions regarding the specific pledges made by Reform UK to residents during the campaign. Cllr Carson replied on 27th May but was not able to provide answers to the substantive questions I raised. I wrote again on 1st June indicating that, in the absence of those answers, I would write directly to the relevant cabinet member in each pledge area. I am doing so now.

The pledge in question was:

“Fix the roads properly: End the pothole patch-up culture. Prioritise long-term resurfacing contracts with penalties for poor performance.”

I would be grateful if you could address the following questions:

East Sussex Highways already operates a long-term resurfacing contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places, which started on 1 May 2023 and runs until at least 2030, with an option to extend for a further seven years. How do you propose to reopen or renegotiate a contract that has over four years to run, and what would be the legal and financial cost of doing so?
Performance penalties already exist within the current contract — failed repairs are redone at the contractor’s cost. What specific additional penalties would you introduce that are not already in place?
ESCC’s own modelling estimates it would cost £350 million to bring all East Sussex roads up to a good standard — a figure that excludes footways, drainage, bridges and street lighting. Against an annual maintenance budget significantly below what is needed, where does the additional funding come from?
Reform UK nationally is committed to reducing public spending. How do you reconcile that position with the level of investment required to deliver this pledge?

We are now over two and a half months into the Reform UK administration. Cabinet members are in post and officers will have had the opportunity to brief you on the key frameworks and constraints within your portfolio. I look forward to receiving your response.

I remain open to constructive engagement wherever that serves the interests of residents.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Bexhill Pebsham and St Michaels Ward (RDC)

07480 066757

vice-chair-membership@bexhillandbattlelabour.org.uk

Reform UK Election Pledge – Fix Social Care

Dear Cllr Estcourt,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the Reform UK Cabinet Member responsible for adult social care at East Sussex County Council.

The pledge in question was:

“Fix Social Care: Cut red tape and invest in frontline carers, not administrators. We will promote partnerships with local charities and care co-operatives.”

I would be grateful if you could address the following questions:

On red tape:

Adult social care is governed by the Care Act 2014, CQC inspection requirements, safeguarding duties and needs assessments — all statutory obligations. Which specific regulations, processes or legal requirements do you intend to reduce or remove?
How would you protect vulnerable people if safeguarding or assessment processes were reduced?

On investment in frontline carers:

What is your specific investment figure for frontline carers?
ESCC has had to borrow £70 million just to balance its 2026/27 budget and has recently cut supported housing services. Which existing services would you reduce to fund additional investment in frontline carers, or do you expect central government to provide additional funding?

On charity and voluntary sector partnerships:

ESCC already funds and partners with Rother Voluntary Action, Hastings Voluntary Action, Care for the Carers, BHT Sussex and many others through the Partnership Plus structure — a model specifically praised by the LGA Peer Review in February 2024. Which specific organisations do you intend to work with that are not already involved?
What would you do differently from the existing partnership model?
ESCC recently cut BHT Sussex’s housing support contract by nearly 90% due to financial pressures. What is your position on restoring that funding?

We are now over two and a half months into the Reform UK administration. Cabinet members are in post and officers will have had the opportunity to brief you on the key frameworks, statutory duties and financial constraints within your portfolio. I look forward to receiving your response.

I remain open to constructive engagement wherever that serves the interests of residents.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Bexhill Pebsham and St Michaels Ward (RDC)

07480 066757

vice-chair-membership@bexhillandbattlelabour.org.uk

Reform UK Election Pledge – Publishing Council Spending and Salaries

Dear Cllr Wolley,

I am writing to you in your capacity as Leader of East Sussex County Council.

The pledge in question was:

“Publish all council spending over £500 and publish senior staff salaries and expenses monthly.”

I would be grateful if you could address the following questions:

Both Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council already publish all supplier payments over £500 — RDC has done so quarterly since 2014, ESCC since at least 2019. What exactly is Reform UK promising that does not already exist?
Senior staff salaries at both councils, including individual director salaries, pension contributions and expenses, are already publicly available through annual accounts and pay policy statements. Which specific information do you believe is currently hidden from the public?
Your pledge specifies monthly publication. Both councils currently publish quarterly. Would you commit to monthly publication at ESCC, and what would the additional administrative cost be?
If this information is already routinely published at both council levels, why was it presented to residents as a new commitment during the election campaign?

We are now over two and a half months into the Reform UK administration. I look forward to receiving your response.

I remain open to constructive engagement wherever that serves the interests of residents.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Bexhill Pebsham and St Michaels Ward (RDC)

07480 066757

vice-chair-membership@bexhillandbattlelabour.org.uk

Reform UK Election Pledge – Better Education Oversight

Dear Cllr Soane,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the Reform UK Cabinet Member responsible for education at East Sussex County Council.

The pledge in question was:

“Better Education Oversight: Support school choice, back academies, and demand higher standards from local education providers.”

I would be grateful if you could address the following questions:

61% of East Sussex pupils already attend academies. Until recently ESCC had a statutory duty to facilitate academy conversions — a duty now repealed by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. What specifically does Reform UK mean by “backing academies” in the context of the current legislative landscape?
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 — which Reform UK opposed nationally — has in fact given local authorities greater powers over academies than they have previously held, including the power to direct admissions and a new duty of cooperation between schools and councils. Do you accept this Act as the legislative framework within which you will operate?
Which specific performance measures would you use to demand higher standards — Attainment 8, persistent absence rates, suspension rates, GCSE English and Maths pass rates?
Who would monitor compliance against those measures, given that Ofsted and the DfE’s RISE teams hold the primary inspection and intervention functions, not county councils?
What consequences would you impose on an underperforming school or academy trust, and under which legislation?

We are now over two and a half months into the Reform UK administration. Cabinet members are in post and officers will have had the opportunity to brief you on the key frameworks, statutory duties and legislative changes within your portfolio. I look forward to receiving your response.

I remain open to constructive engagement wherever that serves the interests of residents and pupils across East Sussex.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Bexhill Pebsham and St Michaels Ward (RDC)

07480 066757

vice-chair-membership@bexhillandbattlelabour.org.uk

Reform UK Election Pledges – Bin Collections, Recycling and Environmental Enforcement

Dear Dan,

I am writing to you in your capacity as Reform UK’s representative on Rother District Council for Rye and Winchelsea Ward.

Two of the pledges — on bin collections and recycling, and on environmental enforcement — relate specifically to functions of Rother District Council rather than East Sussex County Council. As Reform UK’s sole representative at RDC, I am directing those questions to you.

The pledges in question were:

“Guarantee bin collections and improve recycling processes.”

“Stronger Environmental Enforcement: Tackle fly-tipping and rogue landlords. Back local officers to act fast.”

On bin collections and recycling, I would be grateful if you could address the following:

Household waste collection is already a statutory duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. What does a Reform UK “guarantee” add that the law does not already require?
RDC has already begun the phased rollout of weekly food waste collections from 30 March 2026 under the Labour government’s Simpler Recycling legislation. Reform UK opposed that legislation nationally. Do you personally support Simpler Recycling, and would you commit to ensuring RDC’s food waste collection service is properly funded going forward?
The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership’s recycling rate has already increased from 37% in 2019 to 46% in 2024 under the existing arrangements. What specifically would Reform UK do differently to improve on that?

On environmental enforcement, I would be grateful if you could address the following:

Fly-tipping is already investigated and prosecuted by RDC’s own Planning and Environmental Enforcement Team, with Biffa contracted to remove waste. What specifically are these officers currently failing to do that Reform UK would change?
RDC’s Private Sector Housing team already enforces against rogue landlords under the Housing Act 2004, with civil penalties of up to £40,000 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 — legislation Reform UK opposed nationally. Do you support the Renters’ Rights Act as the enforcement framework within which RDC operates?
Are you proposing additional enforcement staff in either area? If so, how many, at what cost, and from which budget?
Given that you are currently in opposition at Rother District Council, I would also welcome your thoughts on whether there are any specific processes or procedures you would like RDC officers to approach differently in relation to these pledge areas. If you have any such requests, I would be happy to pass them on to the relevant officers on your behalf and feed back their responses to you.

I appreciate that as a single opposition councillor at RDC you are not in a position to deliver these pledges unilaterally. Nevertheless, residents in Bexhill and Battle were asked to vote for them, and I think it is reasonable to ask how Reform UK intends to pursue them at district level.

I am of course very willing to work constructively with you at RDC wherever that benefits our residents, and I hope this correspondence is taken in that spirit.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Gareth Delany

Labour Councillor for Bexhill Pebsham and St Michaels Ward (RDC)

07480 066757

vice-chair-membership@bexhillandbattlelabour.org.uk