A Lancashire councillor has been ousted from his role 24 years after first being elected, saying it feels like he's been hit by a tsunami.
As results flood in in the 2025 Lancashire County Council elections, it looks likely Nigel Farage's Reform UK could win a majority and end up running the authority.
The current Conservative administration is seeing its councillors voted out, being replaced by Reform UK, and that is something ousted Labour opposition group leader Matthew Tomlinson is 'genuinely worried' about.
As results flood in in the 2025 Lancashire County Council elections, it looks likely Nigel Farage's Reform UK could win a majority and end up running the authority.
The current Conservative administration is seeing its councillors voted out, being replaced by Reform UK, and that is something ousted Labour opposition group leader Matthew Tomlinson is 'genuinely worried' about.
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00:00Councillor Thomason, commiserations. 20 of the last 24 years on Lancashire County Council.
00:06How does this moment feel?
00:07Obviously, it's very, very disappointing. I've loved being a county council.
00:12It's been a privilege, and especially to represent my hometown.
00:16But, you know, there's a tsunami going across local government today.
00:21And, you know, as we said, if you're in the way of a tsunami, you're going to get hit.
00:25And that's how it feels a bit today.
00:27Not just the county council, though, of course, the Labour opposition group leader.
00:32At the time of the general election last year, you must have had high hopes of taking control of this council.
00:37But, you know, last year people voted for change.
00:41And, sadly, I have to say, they are not seeing the change that they voted for.
00:46In fact, the only change we're seeing at the moment is more and more bad news.
00:51And I'm hoping that the Labour leadership at Westminster will sit up and take notice of what the people are telling them.
00:57And you feel that that was an avoidable situation, that the National Party has put people like you in?
01:02Absolutely. I mean, I know, even though I've been doing it for a long time, and I know that there are people in Leyland who vote for me.
01:09Because most people are not that engaged in local government and tend to vote for a national party on how they feel on the national picture.
01:18Clearly, for the Tories, it's been an absolute disastrous day.
01:22But it's not been much better for us either.
01:24And we do need our national leaders to sit up and take notice.
01:30What do you think they could have done differently?
01:32Well, they could have honoured the promise to Waspsey women.
01:35They could have tapered in the cuts to the winter fuel allowance, so it was more gradual and a bit fairy.
01:43They could have not threatened disabled people with cuts to benefits.
01:46But these, frankly, don't feel like Labour things.
01:51They just don't feel like Labour things.
01:53I know they've got to balance the books, and I know things are difficult.
01:57But many, many Labour voters would say, this is not how we want you to do it.
02:02Just focusing on the County Council for a moment, as we stand here, it looks like there's every possibility reform will take control of the authority.
02:09What do you make of that, and what prospect do you think they have of successfully running the Council?
02:15I genuinely worry for the County Council, because clearly, the vast, vast majority of reformed candidates have no experience of local government.
02:26And having spoken to one or two today, don't know what they've let themselves in for.
02:32But they've got to get on and deliver for the people of Lancashire.
02:35And so, that being the case, I hope, I hope, they do a reasonable job, because it's important stuff.
02:43We've talked during the campaign about the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities.
02:48You know, and a reformed candidate I spoke to today, I asked about SEND, and they didn't know what SEND stood for.
02:54The acronym for?
02:55The acronym for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
02:58And now they are going to be part of the group that's running the County Council.
03:01But it will, this will change things for reform locally, because they can no longer be the party that points at things and says,
03:10aren't things terrible?
03:11Because now they've got to get on and deliver.
03:16Thank you very much.