00:00Reform UK's rise in Birmingham was one of the biggest stories from May's local elections, when the party became the
00:07largest group on the City Council.
00:10But the resignation of Councillor Alan Feeney after racist remarks were exposed by an ITV undercover investigation has raised questions
00:20about whether that momentum can be maintained and how voters may respond to the controversy.
00:26The fact that there is an underbelly within the Reform Party, which would appear to be racist on the base
00:32of what we're saying, probably doesn't come as a surprise.
00:36Of course, these people might argue, well, they're only saying what many people tell them.
00:40So it's a difficult one. But of course, nonetheless, the fact that it's happened locally and we have a representative
00:46here in Birmingham, as it were, or certainly the deputy leader of the Council in Sully Hall, who is saying
00:52pretty horrendous things.
00:53It doesn't reflect well.
00:56The ITV investigation led to the resignation of three councillors elected for Reform UK across Birmingham and Sully Hall after
01:06racist, misogynistic and offensive remarks were recorded.
01:10All three have since left their council positions.
01:14Reform has condemned the comments, saying they do not reflect the party's values and says its vetting procedures have been
01:21strengthened.
01:22In Birmingham, the political impact is particularly significant because Reform made substantial gains in May, including taking Chardin from Labour.
01:33Feeney's resignation triggered a by-election there, creating an important test of whether the controversy has changed local perceptions of
01:42the party.
01:42Now, of course, what we're looking for is sort of robust action from the Reform party, who, dare I say,
01:50you know, they talk about their procedures for sort of allowing people in.
01:53But it's difficult when you're sort of an insurgent party and you're expanding as rapidly as they've done, then you
01:58probably take all and sundry in the hope that, of course, you can sort of fill, you know, the vacant
02:03slots, as it were, when it comes to elections.
02:06Reform's popularity in the opinion polls certainly seems to be waning.
02:10You know, quite clearly, Farage has had a summer to forget.
02:13But, of course, the fact is, though, and of course, I'm personalising it because, of course, for the foreseeable future,
02:19we don't sort of see Nigel Farage stepping down.
02:22The fact that he's surrounded himself by people who also have questionable sort of views is difficult.
02:28And, again, you know, Birmingham's a case in point that sort of the people who voted for Reform, they'll probably
02:32feel that their sort of their vote was wasted.
02:34But, again, it's hard to know, you know, as I say, in the future what people sort of feel.
02:38But certainly the sort of the reform, they need to do some sort of, you know, repair and damage limitation
02:44from the sort of the allegations made over the recent months and indeed weeks.
02:47The wider impact may take longer to become clear, but the resignations have created an early test of whether Reform
02:55can hold on to the support it gained across Birmingham.
