Reform UK could call referendum on Mayor of Doncaster system, leader says

Reform UK Doncaster could look to call a referendum to rid the city of the directly elected mayor system, the party’s new leader has said.

Councillor Howard Rimmer said his party may seek to have a public vote on the subject during this term of office, so the change can come into effect for the 2029 local elections, during an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The directly elected mayor (DEM) system is a little-used local government structure in the UK, with only 13 of the country’s 382 councils using it – including the City of Doncaster Council.

Under the DEM system, the vast majority of power and decision-making is reserved for the Mayor of Doncaster, who is elected by the entire borough, rather than the council chamber.

It means Labour makes around 95 per cent of key decisions in Doncaster with little-to-no input from councillors in the chamber, where Reform UK holds a majority.

Under the current political make-up of the council, Reform UK acts as the opposition to the Labour administration led by Mayor Ros Jones.

Cllr Rimmer said: “It doesn’t work. You can’t have a group of 34, often with help, voting against a group of 13 and losing.”

Whilst Reform UK doesn’t literally “lose” votes in the council chamber, it’s power to influence decisions and policy is limited by the DEM system.

The party regularly cites a July 2025 motion as an example of the system’s unusuality.

Reform UK put forward a motion which proposed a new “flag policy” for the council, which would restrict the flags allowed to be flown on Doncaster Council properties to a strict few.

This included the Union Flag and the national flags of visiting dignitaries or the Royal Standard.

Reform UK passed the motion with a significant majority, meaning they won the vote, but the DEM system dictated that the motion could only ask the Mayor of Doncaster to “consider” implementing their policy.

The final decision rested with Mayor Jones and, nearly a year later, Reform UK’s flag policy has not been implemented.

Doncaster Council has used the DEM system since 2002, after a public referendum democratically chose to adopt the model.

A second referendum on the system was held in the early 2010s, with Doncaster voters choosing to keep the system.

However, because the DEM system was adopted after a public referendum, it can only be removed by referendum as well.

The LDRS asked Doncaster Council if councillors could call for a referendum without requiring sign-off from the Mayor of Doncaster, but received no response.

However, former Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, informed the LDRS that the 2012 referendum on the DEM system did not need his approval at the time.

If a referendum was called and voters chose to remove the DEM system, Doncaster Council would revert to the leader and cabinet-style of local government, where the party with the most councillors would take control and lead the council.

Reform UK would control the council and Cllr Rimmer would be leader of the council if this system was used in Doncaster today.

Since the 2025 local elections, Mayor Ros Jones has repeatedly invited opposition councillors to attend an unofficial “executive group”, which she claimed would allow them to have input on decisions before they were rubber-stamped by her cabinet.

This offer has repeatedly been refused by the Conservatives and Reform UK leaders over the past year and Cllr Rimmer said he has no intention of changing course.