Reform UK has launched a new national network called Women for Reform, intended to connect and support female members and encourage more women to stand as candidates. The move comes as the party faces ongoing criticism over its image among women.
The initiative was launched at the party's conference earlier this month. Sian Astley, a Reform councillor elected to Manchester Council for the Baguley ward in May, said Women for Reform had been in the pipeline for two years. “It was clear that a national group, to support, connect and empower women within our party was both wanted and needed,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
Astley said women have told her they want more than just social events – they require mentoring, meeting like-minded women and grassroots support. She insisted Reform is “absolutely a party for women”.
Gender imbalance among councillors
A report by the Manchester Evening News found that of the 106 Reform councillors elected in the region in the May elections, just 18 were women – meaning more than four in five were male. The Manchester Evening News asked Reform for more details on the party's membership and the male-to-female ratio.
Although the party has two female MPs, a regional mayor and hundreds of female councillors, critics believe the problem goes beyond numbers, pointing to controversial comments by senior figures, proposed changes to equality and employment laws, and the party's combative, masculine political style.
A YouGov poll showed the party was more attractive to men, with 29% considering voting for Reform, compared with 19% of women.
Concerns over candidate conduct
Gawain Towler, Reform UK's former head of communications and ally of Nigel Farage, has urged the party to broaden its appeal to female voters. He said the party was wrong not to demand an apology from Rob Kenyon, the Makerfield by-election candidate in June, for a string of offensive remarks he made about women on social media.
“I lost count of being told about Reform-minded women, women who wanted to vote for us, who would not in the end put a cross beside a man who had said those things and never honestly taken them back,” Towler wrote in a Substack essay. “A proper apology would have been enough, but it was not forthcoming.”
Astley admitted Kenyon's comments made her “uncomfortable”. “Getting Starmer out was the primary goal of the electorate there and voting Burnham in was the best way of doing that,” she said. “I agree that an apology would have been a good idea. I'm sure most of us have said things we regret, that's the nature of growing up and maturing.”
Mixed experiences for female members
Charlotte Kelly was one of the 49 councillors elected when Reform took control of Staffordshire County Council in May 2025. She left the party because of the way she was treated by her local branch, alleging “shouting, verbal abuse and swearing”, as well as sexism.
Not everyone has negative accounts to share. Susan Haworth, a Reform councillor for Farnworth North in Bolton, said her experience has been “positive from the moment I joined Reform UK”. That Reform has set up an initiative for women is a sign to her that the party is taking issues seriously.
Astley said Reform is developing policies around the economy, supporting businesses and enterprise, and reducing taxation to appeal to working women. The party has also faced backlash for proposals regarding family-focused taxation, including past suggestions to tax childless individuals, and for planned changes to the Equality Act if it gets into power. Reform has instead proposed its own women and motherhood protection act to counter those claims.
Conference assault controversy
The party's stance on women's safety was thrust into the limelight when a protester was assaulted at the Reform party conference during Farage's speech. West Midlands Police has opened an investigation after footage showed a young woman being beaten around the head with a crutch before having her hair pulled.
When asked about the incident, Robert Jenrick said: “Oh boohoo… I mean, come on. Get a life.” Party chair Lee Anderson joked that he would be having a “whip round” for the audience member who hit the protester, while home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said he “condemned people punching people”.
Astley, who was in the audience, said the protesters were there to “cause maximum trouble and disruption”, alleging that the woman in the video “badly bit the finger of the security guard”. The Manchester Evening News could not independently verify these claims. “I didn't like the walking stick waving, it wasn't necessary,” said Astley. “I do not condone hair pulling, but nor do I condone biting. I also understand the fear and anger of members just trying to watch a speech, being interrupted by entitled activists who should not have been in the hall.”
She also said tensions were heightened this year, following the death of Ann Widdecombe. Joshua Kerry, 28, was charged with the murder of the former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokeswoman, who was found dead at her Devon home. As a result, many of Reform's senior figures are often escorted by security – including Astley. “I have close protection at certain events. It's an appalling thing to say but you've to be brave, now, to go into politics, especially as a woman,” she said.
For Reform's female members, the creation of the new initiative is evidence that the party has recognised its image problem and is doing something about it. “This party is a serious party with a lot of capability and skill in it,” said Councillor Haworth. “When problems arise I have a lot of confidence in the people who run Reform to come up with the right solutions. People have a right to look at a party and see that it represents them.” The challenge for Reform is not only persuading women that the party's policies are good for them, but that there is also a place for them inside the party.
