Reform UK suspends councillors on Northumberland County Council as investigations launched
Last updated 29th Sep 2025
Two Northumberland county councillors have been suspended from Reform UK pending an investigation.
Berwick North councillor Nicole Brooke and Norham and Islandshire’s Patrick Lambert will both sit as "non-aligned" councillors after having the whip removed by the party.
Both councillors were first elected at the local elections held in May this year. It means the total number of Reform councillors on the county council has now fallen to 20.
A spokesman for Reform UK said: “Councillors Brooke and Lambert have had the whip suspended pending investigation for breaching the Reform Council Group Rules in a manner that could be detrimental to the party’s interests.”
The party gave no indication as to what the alleged rule breach was.
Greatest Hits Radio has contacted both councillors for comment, but has not received a response.
The latest move follows the suspension of fellow Northumberland councillor John Allen.
The Hirst ward councillor was suspended by Reform earlier this month while an investigation is carried out into allegations he made comments on social media suggesting he wanted to kill Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
It followed an investigation by anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate.
Reform are the official opposition on Northumberland County Council, winning 23 seats at May’s local elections. The result put them well ahead of Labour on eight but behind the Tories on 26. The Conservatives currently lead a minority administration.
Councillor Brooke won her seat by just four votes, defeating incumbent Tory Councillor Catherine Seymour in the tightest race in the county. Councillor Lambert defeated Conservative councillor Colin Hardy by 38 votes.
A recent poll by YouGov put Reform at 27% nationally, ahead of Labour on 21% and the Tories on 17%. The same poll suggested that Reform would win three of the four Northumberland seats from Labour, with only Hexham remaining red if an election was held tomorrow.
For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our new home page - https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/