Introduction
Reform’s electoral appeal rests heavily on presenting themselves as outsiders and disruptors in a political system many voters distrust. That image quickly collapses when their record is examined closely. Exposing incompetence, hypocrisy, and poor performance is a key route to undermining misplaced trust. This briefing brings together a set of practical steps, tools and resources designed to support opposition research and accountability campaigns.
How to Hold Reform to Account
1. Start local
Begin by checking your local Reform candidates or councillors. If Reform isn’t standing locally, or if candidates are hard to pin down, look geographically nearby. Are there Reform councillors in neighbouring wards or councils whose behaviour can serve as a warning sign? Carefully drawn comparisons can highlight risk, incompetence, or emerging behaviour patterns. You can find a list of Reform councillors here.
2. Identify Reputationally Damaging Material
Look for patterns of behaviour such as embarrassing or extreme tweets, controversial statements, poor attendance records, or dubious claims. Evidence of actual corruption or serious misconduct is ideal, but lesser infractions can still have value.
Always check the context carefully before using any material. Negative campaigning always carries political risk, so make sure you have a good grasp of the facts before acting. Crucially, think about resonance: not everything that shocks activists will persuade undecided voters. Your choice of material should be calibrated to cut through with your target voters. Use information that ties into things they care about and try to identify hyperlocal failures if possible.
Single incidents can matter, but repeated behaviour is more persuasive and much harder to defend. Recurring controversies, or a track record of bad behaviour, build a stronger, more credible case than one-off scandals.
Tools that can help you:
Reform Exposed
A searchable database of reported controversies involving Reform councillors, compiled from the @ReformExposed account on X.
WardWatch – Reform Councillor Deep Research
AI-powered reports analysing councillor activity, attendance, and council records to produce rapid, ward-level briefings. Designed to surface major local political developments, performance issues, and governance failures.
Dirt Digger
A site that collects negative local news about Reform councillors and compiles them into a searchable database.
Council Attendance Tracker
Tracks attendance patterns for elected councillors, highlighting absenteeism and neglect of official duties.
A tool to find negative stories about Reform.
3. Deliver an Effective Message.
Match the channel to the severity: some issues work best on the doorstep, others on social media, in leaflets, or through the press. If it’s a big scandal, take your time distributing the message across different platforms. Remember the value of the messenger. In an age of low political trust, who says something is as important as what they say. Academic research indicates that it can often be more effective for activists or friendly residents, especially community leaders, to say these kinds of messages.
Online
Prioritise local Facebook groups or Nextdoor where you are likely to have engagement from local residents. The best messengers often come from residents rather than candidates or councillors, as its harder to dismiss these kinds of attacks as partisan. If you’re unsure of what this looks like, here’s our Template Post.
Media
When sending press releases, include photos wherever possible and bring the story to life with quotable lines from local people, not just organisers or councillors. Keep the release concise (ideally under a page) and place it directly in the body of the email rather than as an attachment, making it easy for journalists to scan and use. Always include clear contact details so reporters can follow up quickly, and invest time in getting to know your local journalists, understanding what they cover and how they work can make a big difference to whether your story gets picked up. Here’s our Template Press Release as an example.
Our research conducted during the 2024 election cycle on negative campaigning showed a 2.6% reduction in turnout of supporters achieved when negative literature was targeted the local candidate rather than the national party. In contrast, equivalent attacks on the national party had no measurable impact on turnout. This underlines the importance of tightly scoping any negative messaging: effective accountability campaigning should focus on the named local candidate, clearly and specifically, rather than relying on broader national attacks. Here is a Template Negative Leaflet you could use designed by Kevin Kennedy Ryan who you can contact here.
Conclusion
Holding Reform to account is most effective when it is rooted in clear evidence and delivered through trusted local channels. By identifying patterns of behaviour, focusing on issues that resonate with local voters, and communicating them through the right messengers, campaigns can challenge the outsider narrative that underpins much of Reform’s appeal.
This guide is one of six short briefings designed to help progressive campaigners build effective local campaigns. You can explore the full Winning in May series for more practical guides, tools and research.