Reform UK has announced it will field candidates in Wokingham Borough at the 2026 local elections and hopes to put forward somebody for every seat. The party has grown in support since the 2024 general election. Recent reports suggest it would win Bracknell with 34 percent of the vote if a General Election were held now. In Wokingham the Liberal Democrats are still ahead on an expected 36 percent and Reform would be expected to come third.
"Proud to announce that Reform UK will be fielding candidates in every ward across Wokingham Borough on May 7.
"All candidates nominated, all forms submitted. We are ready.
"The people of Wokingham deserve real change, real representation and councillors who put their residents first.
"On May 7, every voter in the borough will have the chance to make that happen. Watch this space."
Colin Wright, deputy chairman of Reform UK in Wokingham and the party's former parliamentary candidate, said he will stand in either Westcott or Wokingham Without and added: "We've got 11 candidates – we're just looking for the twelfth- they're all decent people.
"We've got two more nominations to go in and change on Tuesday afternoon with the council.
"The 12th is just going through vetting at the moment as a consequence of the Lib Dems’ resignation in Wokingham Without."
Reform's local platform is business-friendly and opposes what Mr Wright called "over development of housing". He said: "Where's the additional infrastructure? Businesses are really suffering because of ill-thought-out road closures.
"We're building all these housing estates. With so-called affordable housing at 80 percent of the market price – to me that's still not affordable housing.
"We need to consider the human impact that any decision made by the council makes.
"We want to attract business into Wokingham – not drive business away.
"It would break my heart to see all these local pubs go under.
"We just have to double down and do what's right for the local community."
On concerns about candidates, he said: "We're all decent hard working people. Politics has become tribal and polarised, and challenge anybody to sit down with the other side and find common ground.
"There are no egos involved in this. A lot of our candidates are not willing to take allowances and want to put all the money back into local charities."
One third of councillors in Wokingham Borough will be up for election this year - one in every part of Wokingham except for Wokingham Without, where a councillor has stood down and two seats are available.
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
