Rebecca Waters, the recently elected Birmingham city councillor for Rubery and Rednal, has been expelled from the Reform UK party after attending just one meeting. Her expulsion follows her decision to defy party orders during a crucial vote for council leadership last month.
Defiance in Leadership Vote
Waters refused to endorse Reform group leader Jex Parkin as her choice for overall council leader, instead casting her vote for Liberal Democrats group leader Roger Harmer. This unexpected move surprised the entire council chamber and signaled a rift between Waters and Parkin. At the time, Waters confirmed to BirminghamLive that she had not voted in error and 'had her reasons' for doing so, but declined to elaborate.
She was immediately suspended pending an investigation. On Monday, the day before the first full council meeting since the May 7 election, Waters learned her fate via email. She has now been informed of her expulsion from the party. During this week's full council meeting, she sat with fellow independent councillors in the main chamber.
Impact on Council Balance
The expulsion reduces the number of Reform councillors to 22. They still constitute the largest single group on the splintered council and form the official opposition to a coalition of Green, Liberal Democrat, and Better Birmingham Independents, who have established a minority administration. Waters refused to comment on the expulsion except to confirm she will now serve as an Independent. She has previously stated her support for Reform policies and ambitions.
Party Statement
In a statement, Reform UK said: “Councillor Waters has been expelled from Reform UK after bringing the party into disrepute. Her decision to vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate for leader of Birmingham City Council rather than the leader of the Reform Group undermined the interests of the collective Reform UK Group.”
Previous Controversy
The party recently defended another Birmingham councillor, Darren Colling, over allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Colling, the newly elected councillor for Sheldon, faced backlash for a series of social media comments responding to pictures of young women. The posts, made on the Threads social media channel, were rapidly deleted just before he was sworn in as a city councillor in May. However, screenshots captured comments including calling women 'stunning', 'yummy', or having 'great pins', and one comment expressing a hope that a pictured young female 'best be taking it up the ****'.
Group leader Jex Parkin was forgiving, telling BirminghamLive: "We have had a conversation and he understands his mistake. It shows the increased scrutiny that all our councillors at Reform UK are under and will be under. While they make uncomfortable reading, there is nothing illegal or a huge breach of conduct, and they were deleted before he took office."
The screenshots were referred to as 'misogynistic' and 'vile' in some online responses, while others described them as 'harmless' and accused those targeting Colling of being 'desperate'. Yardley MP Jess Phillips described the comments as 'creepy' and urged Cllr Parkin to take action.
