Reform UK is set to push for more children with special and educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to be supported in mainstream schools rather than specialist settings, as the party takes on a new role leading English councils.
Councillor Sean Matthews, the leader of Lincolnshire County Council, spoke exclusively to The i Paper after being announced as the first Reform chair-elect of influential lobby group the County Councils Network (CCN).
The CCN lobbies central government on behalf of 39 large councils across England – collectively representing around 27 million people, or almost half the country’s population.
Following May’s local elections, Nigel Farage’s party controls a majority of member authorities for the first time and is now entitled to lead the organisation.
Cllr Matthews, a former Met police officer who retired in 2018 and was first elected in 2024, said the position is a “huge privilege” and that helping to shape ongoing SEND reforms will be a key priority for him and the party, along with adult social care and local government reorganisation.
