New Reform UK leader of North Northamptonshire Council says he wants to put residents first and party politics second

Cllr Martin Griffiths (Croyland and Swanspool ward) was appointed as the new council leader on Thursday (May 22).

The party recently won a majority on NNC, making up 39 out of the 66 elected members currently in the chamber.

In one of his first interviews after being confirmed as leader, Cllr Griffiths said his group would prioritise policies based on issues raised on the doorstep.

He explained that this would include areas such as wastage and efficiencies, the state of roads and the highways contract, children’s services, and the level of council tax.

During his speech to full council, he told members that NNC would hold its first residents’ survey in the next few months to consult the public on what issues matter to them going forward.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), he also said that he not only wanted to reflect on what issues the council should be tackling, but also alter how the authority goes about making its decisions.

Cllr Griffiths said: “I want to change the way it’s been here.

“It’s been aggressive at times and I want to work with all members of this council in a cross-party way, proactively putting the residents of North Northamptonshire first in everything we do, party politics second.”

He also voiced his support for bringing council staff back into offices, saying it was the first thing he sat down to speak about with NNC chief executive Adele Wylie.

He added that working from home ‘should be the exception and not the norm’ and said the council would try to make progress on getting teams back together in physical locations later this year.

Cllr Griffiths was previously the Conservative leader of Wellingborough Borough Council for its final years before it became obsolete.

After a bitter fall-out with the party when NNC was first formed, he sat as an Independent councillor for four years before joining Reform in December last year.

Reflecting on what lessons he would take forward from his previous stint as leader, he said: “I ran a very happy council. A happy workplace is a better workplace and we had that in Wellingborough.

“I also know the importance of having your group fully behind you. I’ve got the full 39 members backing me every inch of the way and while it’s like that we can do great things.”

Cllr Griffiths told the LDRS that he had been looking to join Reform before he made the jump in December.

When asked if he could have predicted the massive surge of support seen in the local elections at the time, he said he did not see it coming.

He said: “The way it’s gone, everything has fallen into place.

“Our message has resonated with the public on lots of national issues, but also with the public on local issues and that was family, community, and country.

“A simple message like that has actually won us the elections and a lot of votes.”

Councillors will resume usual committee meetings in June, after some forums were paused during the pre-election period and during training for the new members.

The first meeting of the executive, where all of the senior portfolio-holding members will come together to make important decisions, will be held on June 17.