Reform loses four Solihull councillors since election as group shrinks to 13

Reform has lost four councillors on Solihull Council since May’s local elections, reducing its group from 17 members to 13 and changing the political balance at the town hall.

The latest departures are Castle Bromwich councillors Alan Feeney and Chris Whelan, who announced on Monday, October 12, that they were leaving the party and would continue serving residents as independents.

Their announcements came two days before ITV broadcast an undercover investigation featuring racist and offensive remarks by the two councillors and fellow Reform representative Jamie Campbell.

Both Feeney and Whelan cited personal reasons for their departures, with Whelan also referring to health grounds. Neither announcement attributed their decision to the investigation.

Reform UK’s group leader, Samantha Gethen, said: “We regret this outcome.”

A party spokesperson added: “Cllr Whelan and Cllr Feeney’s resignations from the group has been mutually agreed on personal grounds. We thank them for their contributions.”

How Solihull Council’s political balance has changed

Reform won 17 seats at the May 2026 local elections, becoming the second-largest group on Solihull Council and the official opposition.

Four departures have since reduced its representation to 13.

The councillors who have left the group are:

• David Hoey – left Reform in July and joined the Conservatives.

• Eleonora Gough – left Reform in September to become an independent.

• Alan Feeney – left Reform in October and continues as an independent.

• Chris Whelan – left Reform in October and continues as an independent.

Hoey gave a pointed explanation for his departure when he joined the Conservatives.

“I joined Reform UK as a protest. However, once I became part of the group, I encountered behaviour that I do not believe is appropriate for elected representatives,” he said in a statement reported by The Solihull Post.

He added that he had raised concerns with the local group and the party nationally, “but no action was taken”.

Hoey said his concerns related to “a small number of individuals”, rather than every Reform councillor.

Gough’s departure also reduced Reform’s representation, although no equivalent statement explaining her reasons was available in the reporting reviewed for this article.

What are the latest departures linked to?

Feeney announced his departure on Facebook on October 12.

“Following discussions, I have mutually agreed with Reform UK that, for personal reasons, I will be leaving the party,” he wrote.

He added: “I will continue to represent the residents of Castle Bromwich and Shard End as an independent councillor and would like to thank all my colleagues.”

Feeney also sits on Birmingham City Council, representing Shard End.

Whelan announced his departure later that day, writing: “Today I have mutually agreed to resign from the Reform UK group on Solihull Council, on personal and health grounds.”

He added that he would “remain as an independent councillor and continue to work hard for the residents of Castle Bromwich”.

The announcements preceded the broadcast of ITV’s Exposure investigation on October 14. The programme featured secretly recorded footage of Feeney, Whelan and Campbell making offensive comments.

Feeney was recorded making racist remarks about Asian people, while Whelan made racist and sexually aggressive comments. Campbell discussed burying pork at a proposed mosque site to obstruct its development.

The remarks have prompted calls for the councillors to resign from public office. Labour MP Liam Byrne said he would report the individuals to the monitoring officers at Solihull and Birmingham councils and seek investigations.

Reform UK told ITV that investigations had begun into members, activists and councillors whose behaviour had been shown in the programme. It said some individuals had been suspended where appropriate and that due process would be followed.

The party added that it had improved its vetting procedures but acknowledged that some people who did not share its values could still pass through the process.

The timing of the resignations has attracted attention, but the councillors’ published explanations cited personal reasons, and Whelan also referred to health grounds.

Who runs Solihull Council now?

The latest council figures show that the Conservatives have 25 seats, Reform UK has 13, the Liberal Democrats have six, the Green Party has four and there are three independents.

The Conservatives remain the largest group, with Karen Grinsell as council leader. Reform remains the largest opposition group, led by Samantha Gethen.

The Conservatives are one seat short of an outright majority on the 51-member council, meaning the changing affiliations of councillors could matter when decisions require votes across the chamber.

The departures do not trigger by-elections. Councillors who leave their political groups can retain their seats and continue representing their wards as independents.

The latest changes therefore affect the council’s political groupings rather than the number of elected representatives serving residents.

For Solihull, the immediate question is how the reduced Reform group will operate as the official opposition, while the wider controversy over the conduct of local representatives continues.