Reform UK issue motion of “no confidence” in Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones
The party has accused the Labour politician of misleading the public over the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport
Reform UK have filed a motion of no confidence in the City of Doncaster Council’s Labour mayor, Ros Jones.
The motion, proposed by Reform UK group leader Councillor Guy Aston, holds no power to remove Mayor Jones from office, nor curb her elected power.
It states Jones “misled” the public with her election pledge to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) by Spring 2026, following the recent news passenger flights are unlikely to return until 2028.
Labour made the reopening of DSA the central pledge in her election campaign which saw her win a fourth consecutive term as Mayor of Doncaster.
As a result, the Reform motion reads: “The Mayor’s repeated pledges on Doncaster Sheffield Airport have not been delivered and have misled the public as to the timescales and certainty of reopening.
“Confidence in the Mayor’s leadership has been undermined not only in respect of Doncaster Sheffield Airport but also more broadly, given the centrality of this issue to her campaign.”
Reform UK has 36 councillors on Doncaster Council, a significant majority over Labour’s 12 and the Conservatives six.
Additionally, independent councillor Mark Broadhurst was initially elected as a Reform UK councillor.
The motion states that, if approved with a majority in the chamber, then the vote will “formally record that the council has no confidence in the Mayor of Doncaster”.
It also states: “For the avoidance of doubt, that this resolution is an expression of council’s political position. It does not remove the Mayor from office, alter the Mayor’s statutory powers, or contravene the Local Government Act 2000.”
It means that in the likely event the motion is passed by the Reform UK majority, it has no effect.
A Labour Party Spokesperson said: “This is nothing more than political posturing from a group that is not serious about the future of Doncaster’s airport.
“Labour is taking the huge steps forward to reopen the airport. Reform wouldn’t commit to the airport’s future at the election and talk it down now for their own political gain.”
Mayor Jones has not issued any statement in response to the motion. However, she did issue a statement when Cllr Aston previously accused her of misleading local people over DSA.
In a statement to the LDRs, Mayor Ros Jones said: “We have always stated that there are interdependencies out of our control in relation to issues such as Airspace and Aerodrome Certification.
“We expect to see freight services commence in Summer 2026, followed by passenger flights towards the end of 2027, meaning we should see plane tickets and holidays on sale by late 2026 flying from Doncaster for the winter 2027/28 holiday season, but again this is all dependent on several factors including Gainshare decision, Airspace, Aerodrome Certification and negotiations with airlines.
“In relation to commercial passenger flights, we have been reviewing plans over the last few weeks in advance of the SYMCA Gainshare decision whilst they were carrying out additional due diligence works.
“I want our airport fully operational as soon as possible, but we must follow the correct process.”