Two Middlesbrough independent councillors have defended their decision to become members of Reform UK while continuing to sit as independents on the council.
Cllr Mick Saunders, leader of the Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association (MICA), and Cllr Stephen Hill have both confirmed they will remain independent councillors until the end of their current four-year term.
The two Cllrs, who represent Park End and Beckfield, recently updated their registers of interests to declare their Reform UK membership.
Their decision has prompted criticism from Middlesbrough Labour, with Cllr Tom Mohan accusing the pair of not being “straight with the public” and keeping their “true colours quiet”.
Cllr Hill rejected the claim, saying he had never hidden his political views or his Reform membership. He said: “It’s fortunate for Middlesbrough Labour that it doesn’t take a genius to see I haven’t hidden my membership of Reform. It was publicly published on my register of interests almost immediately after I joined.”
Cllr Saunders said he had chosen to remain an independent because that was the basis on which he was elected in 2023. He said remaining independent was a way of being “loyal” to the residents who voted for him.
Both councillors confirmed they would continue sitting as independents until the end of the current electoral term next spring.
Cllr Saunders said that, if selected, he intended to stand as a Reform candidate at the 2027 local elections. He said: “I’m a very strong supporter of Reform nationally, and I’m bringing it to a local level now and it’ll be up to the residents” to decide “whether they want me or not.”
He added that if he was not selected as a Reform candidate, he would stand again as an independent.
“The passion I still have for my community and Middlesbrough, is still there, whether I’m independent or Reform,” he said.
The dispute has also raised questions over Cllr Saunders’ position as leader of MICA, which has nine members.
Cllr Mohan has called on him to resign as group leader and give up the £2,700 allowance attached to the role. He said: “The people of Middlesbrough deserve to know who really runs Reform in Middlesbrough – is it their apparent leader Cllr Rush or Cllr Saunders, the so-called independent.”
Cllr Saunders said MICA members had supported his decision to remain group leader until the next elections.
“When I explained my intentions [to MICA], they were in full support of me still being the MICA group leader until the next elections,” he said.
MICA says its members do not always vote together and make decisions based on their own judgement, with no party whip.
The group operates as the main opposition on Middlesbrough Council, although other independent Cllrs sit outside the association.
Middlesbrough Council’s Reform group currently has two Cllrs, group leader Cllr Joanne Rush and Cllr Christine Cooper.
Cllr Cooper previously belonged to MICA before leaving the group last summer and becoming formally affiliated with Reform in January.
Independent Cllr Joan McTigue, who does not sit with MICA, was previously a Reform member but left the party and never served as a Reform councillor.
Cllr Hill said his decision to join Reform was linked to his political views and what he described as the impact of the previous Labour administration in Middlesbrough.
He said he first stood for election in 2019 after seeing what he described as the “devastation” caused by the previous Labour administration, including the demolition of the Southlands Centre in his ward. He said similar concerns about the direction of the country had influenced his decision to join Reform.
Cllr Hill said: “The only national party that provides a credible, positive, and realistic alternative to that future is Reform, which is why I have given them my support as a party member.” He said being an independent councillor did not mean he had no political beliefs.
“Being an independent doesn’t mean my residents expect me to have no political beliefs of my own, only that I represent them in a way that puts them first, rather than following a party line,” he said.
Cllr Saunders said his decision to join Reform was partly driven by what he described as the Labour Party’s “betrayal” over illegal immigration.
He also said becoming a member of Reform would not mean he would automatically follow the party line.
“I’ve always said, being part of a political party, you sometimes need to toe the party line, but I have no intentions of doing that, I’ll speak my mind accordingly,” he said.
One MICA member, who asked not to be named, said most members were comfortable with the situation but admitted they were considering their own position within the group. The Cllr said being a party member while sitting as an independent was acceptable, but added that Cllr Saunders’ position as group leader made the situation more complicated.
Reform UK declined to comment on whether it has a national policy covering councillors who are party members but continue to sit as independents.
The party also did not answer whether it would stand a Reform candidate against an independent Cllr who is also a Reform member at the 2027 elections.
Middlesbrough residents will vote for all 46 council seats and the town’s mayor at the local elections on May 6, 2027.
The number of councillors will remain unchanged, although ward boundary changes mean some residents will have different wards or a different number of councillors to vote for.
The dispute over Cllrs Saunders and Hill highlights an emerging question ahead of those elections: whether councillors elected as independents can retain that status while formally belonging to a national political party.
