Reform UK may have won a majority in multiple county councils, but its campaign has come under fire – not for what it achieved, but for what it said it would.

Leaflets distributed across Kent prominently featured the party’s now-familiar national slogan: “Stop the boats.”

The phrase refers to national immigration policy and border control, and has become a political rallying cry — but it has no relevance to local council powers.

The decision to include such messaging in a local campaign is raising serious questions about transparency, voter expectations, and the responsibilities of newly elected councillors.

Can local councils ‘Stop the Boats’? No.

Immigration, asylum policy, and border enforcement fall strictly within the remit of the UK government — specifically, the Home Office.

Local councils have no authority over such matters. Their responsibilities include local housing, social care, education, waste services, and infrastructure — not national security or immigration control.

Yet, some voters appear to have taken the messaging at face value.

David Wimble, now a Reform UK councillor for Romney Marsh, said during a BBC appearance that someone had already asked him: “When are you going to stop the boats then?” His response was candid: “This is the county council.”

While Wimble insisted he personally campaigned on local issues, the broader party messaging clearly created confusion among voters about what their newly elected representatives can and cannot do.

Misleading messaging?

The Electoral Commission expects campaign materials to be clear and not misleading, although there’s no strict legal rule banning national slogans in local elections.

But this kind of disjointed messaging — blending central government ambitions with local responsibilities — risks misinforming voters.

Critics argue that it undermines local democracy by turning council elections into proxy battles for national policies.

Local authorities are grappling with urgent, often underfunded services like adult social care, children’s services, and special educational needs.

Campaigns that fixate on immigration — entirely outside a council’s control — shift focus away from the real work councils are elected to do.

Capability v credibility

Reform UK now finds itself having to deliver — not on border policy, but on bins, roads, social care, and planning permission.

With 57 new councillors in Kent, the vast majority of whom have no prior political experience, expectations are high but experience is thin.

Wimble acknowledged the scale of the challenge, saying: “We need to be realistic about what we can and can’t do.”

The outgoing Conservative leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, issued a parting reminder that leadership would require attention to complex and demanding areas such as special needs education and social services.

These are not issues solved with slogans.

A test of trust

Reform UK’s stunning gains in Kent show the party’s electoral appeal is growing.

But now comes the harder part: governing.

If their local campaign strategy blurred the line between ambition and reality, voters may soon begin asking whether they were sold promises their councillors had no power to keep.

The test for Reform UK will be whether they can now shift from headline-grabbing rhetoric to the steady, often unglamorous work of local governance.

For a party aiming to reshape British politics, credibility at the local level may matter more than any national slogan.