Local Reform activists ‘suspended from party for life’

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to this week’s Monday briefing.

Happy New Year! We hope you all had a great Christmas and that you’re feeling refreshed and ready for everything 2026 has to throw at you. No? We know the feeling. One thing for sure is that 2026 is going to be a big year for politics in Sheffield, with the return of local elections after a fallow year. One party expected to do well in May’s poll is Reform UK, who are currently riding high in the national polls and won their first councillor on Sheffield council last year. However, a few days before Christmas, the entire board of the Reform Sheffield East branch was suspended from the party for life. What’s going on, and what implications might it have for the party ahead of this year’s elections? That’s today’s big story.

As well as that, we have news of the death of a much-loved former Sheffield MP, theatre, film and art in things to do, and a quirky home in Nether Green.

In case you missed it

Lots of you loved our first weekend read of 2026 about Sheffield’s surprising status as a hotspot for seagulls. Normally associated with the British coastline, David Bocking explained that during the winter months the city gains a significant population of the birds, attracted by warm roofs in Attercliffe and lots of thrown away food. You can still read the piece here.

Though we reduced our normal publishing schedule over the winter break, we still put out a few festive reads to tide our members over until the new year. This includes Mollie’s lovely feature on the great work done by SCCCC supporting elderly residents in their homes, a round-up of our favourite stories from last year and the results of our 2025 predictions from all those months ago. 

The big picture: Going underground

If you haven't seen Sheffield street artist Rob Lee’s now finished mural in the underpass near the Netherthorpe tram stop, then try to make a detour to take a look. It has taken him a while. Lee started painting the mural back in September during the Lick of Paint festival, and finally completed it in early December. Full of Lee’s trademark geometric abstractions, it’s a fantastic new piece of public art.

The big story: Local Reform activists ‘suspended from party for life’

Top line: What was once the city’s most active branch of Reform UK has imploded. Shortly before Christmas, its entire board was expelled from the national party for life. Since then, cryptic messages about “scandalous and unprofessional treatment of volunteers” have appeared on its former Facebook page. At a time when Reform is riding high in the polls and crossing their fingers for a successful local election campaign in Sheffield, what’s going on?

Flying the flag: Despite their name, Reform Sheffield East (or the East Beasts as they sometimes called themselves) never limited their activities to just one half of the city. They’re perhaps best known for raising Union Jacks in Walkley last year, as we covered at the time. Reform members installed dozens of flags on South Road, while locals in a hastily assembled “Walkley Anti Fascists” WhatsApp group rushed to take them down. “This community doesn’t want that, it’s not what we’re about,” one local man told us at the time.

Truth tellers: On 21 December, a shocking announcement appeared on what was then the Reform Sheffield East Facebook page, which currently boasts almost 600 followers. The group’s admins — or “The Truth Teller Team” — revealed they had been “expelled from Reform UK for life for bringing the party into disrepute”. The expulsion does not appear to be linked to their activities in Walkley.

• Comments on the announcement make ominous references to “a kangaroo court with the verdict and sentence agreed upon well in advance,” as well as “internal whispering, second hand reporting and confusion at regional level”.
• Though the post insisted that the “TRUE full story will all come out,” when contacted by The Tribune, the Truth Teller Team said they were not yet ready to go public, although they have yet to explain why. 
• On Friday, The Tribune asked Reform UK’s regional organiser to provide a statement about the suspensions. They are yet to respond.
• Other local party members confirmed that they had also been suspended from the party but weren’t able to comment due to the “ongoing legal position”.

Fringe views: Posts made by the Reform UK Sheffield East page prior to the shock expulsion certainly made some bold claims, although it's unclear if this was what the national party found so concerning. In July, one lengthy post claimed that we were all “living through the largest psychological operation in human history” and that we were “digitised product[s] on a centralised grid, monitored, poisoned, manipulated, taxed, and tranquilised from birth to death while being told to smile and be kind”. 

Reform vs Reform: Splits in political parties are of course nothing new — on the left, for example, there’s Your Party — but they do seem to be concerningly common within Reform. In Doncaster, where Reform is the biggest party on the council, the leader stepped down after receiving "vitriolic texts that border on abuse" from his own councillors over the decision to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Elsewhere, five Reform councillors in Kent were expelled, after a video call of them shouting and swearing at each other was leaked to the media.

New party: Some local Reformers insisted they were sticking with the party, despite the drama. Former Woodhouse candidate Andrew Hizzard, for example, said he is still a member of Reform UK and intends to stand for them again at the next council elections. However, many in Reform Sheffield East have jumped ship to a new Advance UK party, set up by Reform’s previous co-deputy leader Ben Habib. This clearly includes the expelled admins, who have since renamed the Reform Sheffield East page on Facebook to Advance UK Sheffield. 

Bottom line: If the polls are to be believed, Reform UK is on course to win big in this year’s local elections. Those on the left fear they have a good chance at winning up to 14 seats around Sheffield and, given the council still operates on a committee system, this would give them at least some sway over how the city is run. However, if they want residents to trust them with that authority, it’s vital that voters know why the party felt the need to expel its most devoted local volunteers. Whatever happens, it’s going to be an interesting year in Sheffield politics.

If you know any more about this story, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🗳️ Tributes have been paid to former Sheffield MP Sir Patrick Duffy, who has died aged 105. Born in Wigan, Duffy’s father moved the family to Doncaster when he was a child to find work in the local mining industry. He served in WW2 as a fighter pilot and was seriously injured in a crash in Shetland at the age of 23, being given the last rites on two occasions. In 1970 he was elected MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, a constituency he would continue to serve until his retirement in 1992. He also served as defence minister in James Callaghan's Labour government in the late 1970s and as president of the NATO Assembly in the 1980s. Kevin Meagher, who helped Duffy write his second book at the age of 103, making him the world’s second oldest published author, said "Patrick's was a life well-lived.”

📺 It’s the question on everyone’s lips: where might you be able to watch a Sheffield sweet shop worker wipe the floor with a PR executive and a cyber security consultant? The Traitors, of course, this Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One. Reece, a 27-year-old sweet shop worker from Sheffield, is a contestant on the hit TV show that turns personal trainers and hospitality workers into minor celebrities, and despite having only said a combined five words so far this season, according to the Star, he’s not afraid to be “cutthroat” and says “my individual traits like assertiveness will push me further”. A recap: in the most recent episode, traitors Stephen, a cyber security consultant, and Rachel, a PR executive, were tasked with selecting their next victim by marking with red ink a painting featuring the faces of every contestant in the game. What does this mean for our shy sweet shop worker who, in the words of the local press, may be concealing an iron streak? Well, Reece was the only person to witness Stephen and Rachel approach the painting and if anyone notices that the murdered contestant happens to have a red splodge next to their face on the painting, Reece might actually have a chance to clock in and actually start playing. Unless he’s murdered, that is. Sadly, Doncaster woman Judy was the first in the castle to be booted out on Friday. 

🏅 And congratulations to Sheffield council’s director of public health Greg Fell on being awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list. Fell led the city’s response to Covid and was given the award for his contribution to public health both in Sheffield and nationally. Sheffield council chief executive Kate Josephs said Sheffield was “incredibly lucky” to have someone of Fell’s “expertise, rigour, integrity and humanity” working in the city. “This recognition is hugely deserved,” she added. Our interview with Fell from 2022 is here.

Home of the week 🏡

We love this homely, quirky three-bedroomed mid-terrace in the desirable suburb of Nether Green. Situated on a secluded drive, the south-facing lounge is flooded with natural light and benefits from views over Carr Bank Wood. The home also has parking for two cars to the rear and a spacious garden with both lawn and patio areas. It is on the market for £350,000.

Things to do 📆

Theatre 🎭 If you fancy some live theatre early in the New Year, there’s still a few days left to see Sheffield Theatres’ production of A Christmas Carol (featuring several local Sheffield carols) at The Crucible (which finishes on Saturday). And at the Lyceum theatre, Nutcracker in Havana brings some Cuban heat to the festive classic, featuring choreography by Carlos Acosta performed by his Acosta Danza Cuban dance company (runs from 7-10 January).

Film 🍿 2025 was great year for movies, and the Showroom are offering cinema-lovers the chance to catch up on any they may have missed in their Best of 2025 season. The season includes smash hits including Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler's Sinners. But it also features some lesser-known although no less brilliant movies including highly-acclaimed Tourette's film I Swear, and black-comedy drama Sorry, Baby.

Art 🎨 On Wednesday, develop your artistic skills in a relaxed setting at the Millennium Gallery. Feel Good Art Club is a mindful art session to help you find stillness and calm and enjoy an evening developing your skills. Don’t worry if you’ve not picked up a paint brush since school — the club is a relaxed, friendly group where all are welcome, from the more experienced artists to the absolute beginners. Tickets are £9 and the session starts at 6pm.

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