A BRANCH of the Reform UK political party has been officially set up for the Tiverton and Minehead constituency, which takes in West Somerset and Exmoor, and parts of the Culm Valley, Blackdown Hills, and a number of parishes bordering Wellington.

Reform members met in Bishops Lydeard Village Hall to formally create the branch and elect a committee of officers.

The constituency’s 2024 General Election candidate Fred Keen, who lives in Minehead, was elected as chairman.

Mr Keen took 7,787 votes in the election, giving Reform a 16.4 per cent share of the turnout from a standing start.

It was enough to dislodge long-serving Conservative Ian Liddell-Grainger, as Liberal Democrat candidate Rachel Gilmour took the seat with a majority of 3,507.

Mr Keen said: “The membership of Reform locally is growing exponentially with 40 new members joining over the Christmas period alone.

“Nationally, the party currently has 185,500 members and we have now overtaken the Conservative party’s membership.

“Reform UK have candidates standing in the May local elections in Devon with high expectations of electoral success.

“As our party chairman stated, people locally and throughout the country are looking for leaders with a vision to take us out of the mess we are all witnessing.

“Reform UK are the only party with the vision to do this, a party of the people for the people.”

The party also has a Taunton and Wellington branch chaired by the 2024 Parliamentary candidate Charles Hansard, who lives in Rockwell Green.

Reform was founded in 2021 to succeed the Brexit Party and is led nationally by Clacton MP Nigel Farage.

It has branded itself as ‘the alternative’ to the Conservatives and Labour parties, which it said were ‘ruled by an out of touch political class who have turned their backs on our country’.