History
At the 2019 Swale Borough Council election, the party elected 10 councillors. After the election, a "rainbow coalition" of the Swale Independents, Labour, Liberal Democrats, independents, and the Greens, was formed. This ended 17 years of Conservative control of the council. [5] [6] [7]
In 2020, the party's leader, Mike Baldock, faced criticism for opposing new houses being built, despite being a landlord who owns three houses, and an acre of land, worth £1 million in total. [8]
At the 2021 Kent County Council election, Baldock won a seat, becoming the party's sole representative on the council. [9] [10]
From April 2022 to May 2023, Baldock served as Swale Borough Council's leader. [11] [12]
At the 2023 Swale Borough Council election, the party won 11 council seats. [13] Afterwards, they formed another coalition with Labour and the Greens. [14]
In December 2023, Baldock resigned as deputy leader of Swale Borough Council, after a disagreement with the Labour group. He returned to the role just two weeks later. [15] [16]
In March 2024, Baldock was selected as the party's candidate for Sittingbourne and Sheppey in the 2024 general election. [17] He came fourth with 7.9% of the vote. [18]
In February 2025, four borough councillors left the party to join Reform UK, citing their fear that the UK is "heading for a Labour-run dictatorship". Mike Baldock called the move "a huge betrayal of the people who voted for them" and suggested that the defectors should resign and contest by-elections as Reform candidates. [19] [20]
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