W e are now the main opposition party ,” Nigel Farage declared as his party swept to a string of victories in England’s local elections last year. Mr Farage claimed Reform UK – which has only been around in its current form since January 2021 – had broken the grip of Labour and Conservatives, winning 677 council seats and carving deep inroads in the parties’ long-established heartlands, by taking over 10 councils . On the back of promises to scrap net zero , target wasteful spending and fix potholes, the right-wing party looked to have hit the right note with disillusioned communities across the country. But not long after the tables to count ballot papers were folded up, and the election campaign posters were taken down, problems began to arise as the party started to take the reins of local authorities with multimillion-pound budgets.…