Newly-elected Reform councillor admits she would not ‘perceive’ what she is doing
Reform UK Councillor Sarah Wood made the stark admission during the first full meeting of Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire after her party took 29 seats – six short of a majority
In a shocking clip, a freshly-elected Reform councillor has admitted she doesn’t know what she is doing, claiming she doesn’t ‘understand’ what she was voting for.
Councillor Sarah Wood made the honest confession during the first full meeting of Kirkless Council in West Yorkshire since Reform UK became the council’s largest party. The embarrassing moment came as councillors were asked to consider electing her as the new leader of the council, which is currently hung.
In the clip from Wednesday, Cllr Wood admitted: “I do not understand the constitution. I have not had sufficient time to read that as of yet. I don’t understand what standing orders are, what they’re made up of, nor do I understand what an amendment is.”
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The stark admission came after she was put forward as potential leader for the council, where her party have 29 seats, six short of a majority, in a bid to stop a Greens-led coalition taking control. But the Conservatives refused to back the Greens, leaving councillors scrambling to find another way forward.
One councillor proposed the Green councillor Andrew Cooper and Wood face off in a ‘head-to-head’ vote – which requires the suspension of ‘standing orders’. Standing orders are the formal procedural rules councils use to govern debates votes and meetings, with their suspension allowing the council to question the candidates in a debate.
But Reform complained their opponents were “playing political games”, taking advantage of the “ignorance” of new Reform councillors. Cllr Wood told the assembled councillors: “I suggest there is a possibility that we might vote for something that we don’t understand at the moment.
“We don’t understand the constitution, we don’t understand standing orders. We are at a disadvantage, we do not necessarily know what we are voting for and therefore this we consider not to be a democratic process.”
Fellow Reform councillo Rob Butler piped up in agreement, saying: “We are being manoeuvred with a game play when we do not know the rules and I do not think that is right.” Despite the protests, councillors eventually voted on whether to hold the proposed ‘head-to-head’.
But even Reform reportedly voted against it and the motion was defeated. The meeting was adjourned until Thursday May 28 for the council to try again to elect a leader and determine who will run the authority.
Independent councillor Tanisha Bramwell described the altercation as “appalling” after she confronted Cllr Wood in the chamber. She said: “A lot of their supporters have commented to us and said, ‘How can they be expected to know that, they’re only two weeks in?’
“I absolutely agree with that. They deserve breathing space, so that they can learn the ropes as a councillor. They should also acknowledge the fact that if they’re not there yet in meeting the requirements of being a basic councillor, surely they are not meeting the requirements to be the leader of our council. Kirklees council has had poor leadership and negligence, and these people were voted out in May of 2026.”
She added: “We cannot afford any more incompetence. We’ve lost everything: council tax increases, youth opportunities and social housing. It is so important we have the correct people leading us in that council and in charge of those positions, because when we don’t, it affects us, our families and the people we love, and we can’t have it anymore.”
