Apologies but I have to swear!.......... Bloody Hell!! Reform are now in control of Suffolk County Council. We all thought that the end of SCC after Local Government Reorganisation in April 2028 was going to cause problems but it's now a Very Good Thing as at least Reform have less than two years to B****r Up Suffolk.
The councillors elected this week will serve a foreshortened mandate. Suffolk's two-tier system is being replaced with three new unitary authorities, including the new Ipswich and South Suffolk council — known to many as Greater Ipswich. Elections for those bodies are due in May 2027, with the new councils running as shadow bodies for a year before formally taking on power in April 2028.
Here are the final seat count results for the Suffolk County Council election:
- Reform UK: 41 seats
- Green: 13
- Conservatives: 9
- Labour: 3
- Liberal Democrats: 2
- Independent: 2
The bottom line: A party that did not exist locally five years ago now controls Suffolk County Council. How it intends to use that majority remains to be seen.
This is what we have to cope with............
The party refused to engage with the media at today's elections, having been instructed to only speak with GB News. They also declined interview requests throughout the campaign, with the chairman of Ipswich Reform instructing all of the party's candidates not to take part in our Meet the Candidate interviews. Only Tony Gould, who stood in Whitton, responded.
The Green party won enough seats here to be the opposition party on SCC and our little bit of Suffolk voted Andrew back in for the Green Party. A County that was Conservative for as long as people can remember is now in the charge of a whole lot of unknowns.
Andrew Stringer (right) is also on Mid Suffolk District Council, which is controlled by the Greens
Andrew Stringer, the group leader for the Greens in Suffolk, has been re-elected for the Upper Gipping division.
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And Now for something Completely Different............
Tomorrow Is Rogation Sunday
" It is celebrated as the fifth Sunday after Easter (or the sixth Sunday of Easter), serving as a day of prayer and blessing for the land, crops, and the community, often marked by the tradition of "beating the bounds" "
The church in my village says prayers for farmers on the day and for many years the villagers would 'Beat the bounds' on Rogation Sunday. Many villages did this - it was a walk around all the Parish boundaries, stopping for prayers at various points.It was important for churches as I believe the income for the vicar was once based on the size of the parish.
This old photo from 'East Suffolk in Old photos' facebook page is of the villagers here gathering sometime in the 1800's to walk around the village.
Somewhere I've seen a more recent photo from 1975, which has a very young vicar - and 51 years later he is still the vicar today, which is probably why they don't head out from church to beat the bounds now he's over 80!
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| Beating the Bounds Illustration from the book The English Year by Steve Roud .Illustration by George Cruikshank Comic Almanac 1837. |
We’re in Lancashire and so we share your despair and anger at election results. What can we say. Anne in Lancs 😢
ReplyDeleteFirstly commiserates on election results. We in Essex are in the same situation😡. Were there no women in the village (photo), she said tongue in cheek. They were obviously at home cooking the Sunday roast. I really enjoyed A Fugue in Time Sue , thanks for the book reviews. June
ReplyDeleteThey've held Lancashire County Council for 12 months now. Here's a Guardian article about it. It's quite long but worth reading, particularly the comments near the end from a Reform voter whose elderly relative is reaping what the commenter has sown...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/13/reform-uk-lancashire-council-seven-months-in-power
Just read the article... oh wow. 😳 tactical voting kept reform out of my area.
DeleteThanks for that link. It would be interesting to get some Teform or Restore voters comment on it.
DeletePowys has Reform too - the border countries went with them, and the rest of Wales has voted for Plaid - though they are in bed with Labour so it may not do the rest of Wales much good. Labour has been told to push off good and proper.
ReplyDeleteRogation Sunday . . . I remember reading about that. Wonderful that the same vicar has stayed in place so long. I think prayers for the farmers are very much needed these days . . .
Ditto Norfolk. Grateful they do not have the majority on Norwich Council, and amazed by the Yarmouth result. What is this madness which makes formerly apparently sane individuals vote for people like Trump and Farage???
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge worry that so many new roles in councils will be taken by people with no experience at all, here we have always been blue with a smattering of orange, our councillors are all back, albeit with less votes each. The only positive I can think of they have 2 years before the next general election, enough time to see if the party does what it says, or were they all false promises.
ReplyDeleteAs I said on Cro’s blog my County Councillor was a retired farmer with a degree in agriculture who had run a small engineering business. Perfect for a very rural area. Now we have a Reform 19 year old apprentices car mechanic! Madness.
ReplyDeleteEven more insane Restore Britain won all 10 seats it was contesting. The party formed by the man who was kicked out of the Reform Party!
The only positive thing I can say about yesterday is that in her resignation speech Eluned Morgan conducted herself with grace and dignity, taking full responsibility for Labour's downfall in Wales.
ReplyDeleteGod help us if our next General Election puts the frog {Nigel Farage} into Number 10 and the Temper Tantrum Throwing Tangerine Toddler is still in the Orange House in Washington DC.
No local elections here. Hopefully by the time they roll around people will have seen what has happened in other areas and a degree of sanity will have returned.
ReplyDeleteI also hope that the mainstream parties realise that they need to actually listen to people's concerns, rather than simply dismiss them, as this backlash is the result of successive governments turning a deaf ear to the electorate.
We had the national elections here and Reform have gained 17 seats out of 129. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI know you live in Scotland, Catriona, as do I, and the thought of that number of Reform MSPs leaves me in despair. Some (most?) through the list. Sigh J’nan
DeleteAs I see it, the 'upstarts' have a little while to prove their ability or otherwise, so that people can vote accordingly when the General Election comes round. That's my optimism coming to the fore.
ReplyDeleteAgreed x
DeleteAlison in Devon x
Yes I also agree. Throwing inexperienced people (and that goes for the Greens as well, though I support them) will result in a mess and the people will soon be clamouring for the old timers and sensibility.
DeleteLet's hope a bit of experience will bring saner outcomes next time. But we thought we'd seen off T***p once, too, and despite experience, here we are again. Sigh. There was election meddling, though.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that there are no women in those photos. Were they not allowed to participate? Sorry about your politics. I don't what people are thinking these days.
ReplyDeleteDidn’t they turn the youngest parishioner upside down and touch his head to the boundary in certain places? Or have I been dreaming?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that about the Rogation and Beating the Bounds. Really interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBloody hell is right. It's alarming that so many people see Reform as an answer to whatever problems they're experiencing. (Or perceive themselves experiencing.)
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, when large groups of people become dissatisfied, they vote for what they think will improve their life. Look at the US today.
ReplyDeleteDissatisfaction levels are rising again, not only in the US but worldwide.
I wonder if the world has become so complex that decision-makers are incapable of making good choices?
The farmers need and deserve all the blessings/help we can provide. I love the Rogation and Beating the Bounds tradition.
I have to assume that Reform may be akin to some parties over here - there was a by-election yesterday and the traditional right-wing party (Liberals) were trounced by a party who are very akin to the orange one. The traditional left (Labor) didn't even bother to field a candidate.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am.so disappointed in my fellow Aussies. What they hope to achieve by voting in Trump-lite is beyond me. Thank goodness they've only got the one member in federal parliament.
DeleteWow! Swearing and politics in one post.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely your take on things
Thanks everyone for comments - I hope that's the only time I have swearing and politics in one post!!
ReplyDeleteHopefully their shortened period in power will mean not too much damage can be done. Fingers crossed. I'm so glad that we didn't have an election in our area.
ReplyDeleteOh no. Hope they don't do too much damage.
ReplyDeleteNo election here either, thank goodness, but I think it shows how desperate people are for change.
ReplyDeleteAngie
Oh my, I do hope the upstarts have a plan.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.