Reform announces its top team to lead in Lincolnshire
Reform UK has announced its top team which will be leading Lincolnshire.
The executive team includes many new faces to politics, with six of the nine having not served as councillors before Reform swept into power.
The party now controls 44 of the 70 seats, and faces the task of turning its campaign promises into reality.
Leader Sean Matthews, a former Met Police officer who was elected for the first time, is set to get approval for his team at a meeting later this week.
The cabinet members will oversee their own area of council business and receive additional pay for their added responsibilities.
All councillors receive a basic allowance of £12,460,
Members of the Executive are paid an additional £22,200, for a total of nearly £35,000.
The allowance for the leader of the council is around an extra £39,000, and £26,000 for the deputy leader.
The deputy leader Councillor Robert Gibson will take on the portfolio for community engagement, which includes the task of local government reorganisation.
Coun Gibson was in the first group of county councillors to defect to Reform.
He was elected in 2021 as a South Holland Independent, representing part of Spalding, before most of the group switched to Reform in March 2025.
The new environment boss, Coun Danny Brookes, previously sat on East Lindsey District Council as a member of the Skegness Urban District Society.
His defection was unveiled at a high-profile rally with Nigel Farage in March.
Coun Steve Clegg will be the portfolio for adult care and health.
Councillor Clegg, who previously ran a photography business, won a North Kesteven by-election in 2016 as an Independent, which he described as a blow to “big party politics.”
He secured re-election in 2019. However, with no party able to command a majority on its own, he worked with the Conservatives as a ‘kingmaker’ and served as a member of the Executive.
He didn’t stand again in 2023.
Former firefighter Councillor Alex McGonigle, representing the Louth Wolds, will be focusing on crime, safety communities and crime in his portfolio for Community Safety.
The first-time councillor defeated Hugo Marfleet, who had made a bid for the Conservative nomination for Lincolnshire mayor.
He will be supported by Manzur Hasan, another former South Holland Independent who defected earlier this year.
Louth business owner Natalie Oliver will be taking over from the veteran councillor she defeated, Patricia Bradwell, in managing children’s services.
This area is one of the biggest strains on the council’s budget.
Coun Oliver is the only woman on the Executive, and Companies House shows she runs a luxury holiday retreat.
Louth Councillor Tom Catton will be responsible for resources, including business support and performance monitoring.
He won by 56 votes, defeating an Independent candidate.
Chartered engineer Michael Cheyne, who represents the Boston West division, will be taking over one of the most challenging jobs in looking after roads and transport.
He won election with a resounding 52 per cent of the vote, unseating Coun Paula Ashleigh-Morris.
Councillor Liam Kelly will be given the portfolio for growth, including the economy, property and veterans.
He took Lincoln’s Swallow Beck & Witham ward, defeating long-time Conservative member Hilton Spratt.