It is time for a new direction for Reform in Leicestershire. Reflecting on last night’s election result in Shepshed: Labour GAIN from Reform UK. We previously won this seat in 2025 with a majority of 805 votes, an outstanding victory. Last night we lost all of that and lost the seat by 53 votes with our candidate in second place with 1,110 votes, Tories in third with 819 and Restore Britain fourth with 228. With a result like last nights, the typical response I imagine will be to blame Restore Britain for “splitting the vote”, as they achieved 228 votes, more than four times Labour’s winning margin. The likelihood is those votes previously went to Reform UK at the 2025 elections. But I believe accountability is important. Instead of pointing the finger and blaming Restore for “splitting the vote”, I take a different approach and recognise voters dissatisfaction with what we have managed to deliver since forming the administration at Leicestershire County Council. After all, we live in a democracy and no party “owns” anyone’s vote. That’s democracy. Anyone would be foolish to claim otherwise. If we wish to regain the support of our former voters who have now chosen an alternative, slandering Restore and throwing around “split the vote” accusations will simply drive them further away and make us look just as bitter as the Tories looked when we previously split their votes. Truthfully today is a hard day for Reform Leicestershire, but I believe we have what it takes to turn this around. What this result shows is that we need a radical change of direction at Leicestershire County Council under Reform UK. If we can show we can deliver what Reform voters and former Reform voters want to see on their doorsteps, we can turn this around. We should not have lost Shepshed. We did. Time to take a step back, breathe, and instead of pointing the finger, take responsibility and turn this ship around. Taking action is the only repellent to failure.