Extraordinary Doncaster Council meeting sees Reform UK take over several key committees
It will give the party - which doesn't directly run the authority - more of a say on council decisions
Doncaster Reform UK have successfully removed Labour councillors as chairs and vice-chairs of key council committees.
At an extraordinary meeting of council, councillors approved Reform’s nominations for a range of positions, including for the important Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC).
Labour still control the City of Doncaster Council. Most council committees are intended to scrutinise and review the acts of Mayor Ros Jones and her cabinet, who make circa 95 per cent of key decisions.
Mayor Jones’ party still have vice-chairs on the Communities & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel and Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel.
Reform UK remain in opposition to the Labour administration. The new chairs and vice-chairs of committees will head up relevant scrutiny panels; as well as the quasi-judicial Planning Committee and Licensing Committee, which are non-political.
Introducing the new nominations, Councillor Karl Hughes, Reform UK deputy group leader, said: “When committee appointments were first made following the May elections, the process had to be completed quickly to allow the new council to begin its work.
“At that time, many of us were newly elected and still finding out feet, so positions were filled in good faith but without the benefit of seeing how members’ skills and experience would develop in practice.”
Coun Hughes said Reform had recently undertaken a “skills and abilities audit”, led by its new political advisor, Catherine Mullen, creating a “refreshed and more capable team of nominees for committee leadership positions”.
He added: “These proposals are not about partisanship. They reflect a mature, balanced approach.
“Conservative councillors will take up vice-chair roles on both the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee and the Audit Committee, while Labour colleagues will continue to hold two vice-chair positions elsewhere.”
“That ensures political balance, continuity, and a fair reflection of the chamber as it stands today,” he continued.
Reform UK nominated Coun Hughes, the new deputy group leader, to chair OSMC. Coun Steve Cox, Conservative group leader, was nominated by Reform to vice-chair the group.
Hughes has stepped into the roles of deputy leader and OSMC chair, succeeding Coun Rachel Reed.
Reed was deputy group leader and chair of OSMC, but she resigned from both roles in September 2025. She remains a Reform UK councillor.
The resignations followed the controversy surrounding Fly Doncaster (Auxiliary Services) Ltd, a company established by Coun David Knight and Coun Reed to do business with the council on Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Coun Knight was booted from the party over the saga and now sits as an independent. Reed cut ties with the controversial business within days of it being established.
Senior Conservative Coun Jane Cox was nominated by Reform to vice-chair the Audit Committee – chaired by Reform UK’s Coun Jason Charity.
Other key changes included Coun Craig Ward nominated to chair the Licensing Committee and Coun Neil Wood to chair the Planning Committee.
As part of the nominations, Reform took aim at many of the chair and vice-chair positions held by Labour councillors. Coun Majid Khan was formerly the chair of the Planning Committee; Coun Gemma Cobby was vice-chair of the Audit Committee; and Labour and Co-operative Coun Jane Kidd was vice-chair of the OSMC.
The full approved nominations for the committees were:
Planning Committee – Coun Neil Wood (chair), Coun Craig Ward (vice-chair)
Licensing Committee – Coun Craig Ward (chair), Coun Howard Rimmer (vice-chair)
OSMC – Coun Karl Hughes (chair), Coun Steve Cox (vice-chair)
Audit Committee – Coun Jason Charity (chair), Coun Jane Cox (vice-chair)
Health & Adult Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Panel – Coun Maria Hollingworth (chair), Coun David Carroll (vice-chair)
Reports published on the Doncaster Council website suggested there would also be changes to the Communities & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel – however, Reform UK said this was a mistake and the chairs and vice-chairs of this panel were not changed.
Reform re-nominated chairs and vice-chairs in order to regain control of the OSMC. After Coun Reed stepped down as committee chair, the vice-chair Coun Kidd took over on an interim basis.
Without the extraordinary meeting, Reform will have had to wait until the next scheduled meeting of full council in November 2025 in order to nominate a new OSMC chair.
By November’s meeting, the OSMC will have already reviewed and scrutinised Mayor Jones’ plans for Doncaster Sheffield Airport, under the direction of Coun Kidd.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Reform wanted one of its own to chair the OSMC meetings during the DSA reviews, resulting in the extraordinary meeting being called.
A spokesperson for the local party said: “We believe now is the time to take a more direct role in ensuring decisions made by the administration are examined and deliver value for the people of Doncaster.
“We now feel confident in taking the lead on key committees to deliver on our commitments.
“At the same time, we acknowledge the depth of experience across the chamber and believe it’s right to reflect that by appointing Vice Chairs from other parties. This is about effective governance, not partisanship.”