Nigel Farage warns of huge challenge facing Reform councils - 'fight on our hands!'

Nigel Farage warned that Reform UK is facing "obstructionism" from councils it won in the local elections. The insurgent party, which is leading national opinion polls, took control of 10 town halls in the May ballots.

During an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Reform leader was asked about the 19-year-old interim leader of Warwickshire County Council putting forward plans to hire political assistants at a cost of up to £190,000 a year. Mr Farage said: "At the moment we're finding that we're very, very hamstrung. We're going into existing administrations, we're facing obstructionism in many places and Warwickshire a very good example. The CEO wilfully defying what we want to do there.

"So does this guy George Finch need some professional political figures around him? You bet your life he does.

"This is going to be a very big battle against the existing bureaucracies in these councils who have been running bad practice for years. We've got a fight on our hands."

Asked what he meant by "obstructionism", Mr Farage went on: "They don't want to show us the books, we ask where's the money being spent, can we see the credit card statements, we find genuine, deliberate obstructionism."

The Clacton MP also denied that spending taxpayers' money on assistants would be a "model for future Reform councils around the country".

He said: "No I think Warwickshire was the worst example of obstructionism that we've faced.

"There are other councils where we're working reasonably well with the existing administration."

Councils are allowed to employ up to three people as political assistants who serve the three largest parties on the local authority.

George Finch, the interim leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: "For years, the council administration has relied on the corporate policy team to come up with the innovative ideas required to shepherd Warwickshire through the crises we face.

"We've found this team to be unable to bring about the change we were elected for."

It comes after Reform won more than 600 councillors in the local elections, seizing control of eight local authorities from the Tories and two from Labour.

The insurgent party has set up an Elon Musk-inspired Doge unit led by former chairman Zia Yusuf aimed at slashing local government waste.

Warwickshire County Council has been approached for comment.