“Listen to Me” - Reform UK's Local Election Surge and Why Democracy Must Evolve
Bridging the Gap Between Elections and Everyday Representation
There is a group who have been called forgotten, left behind, and invisible – until Reform UK handed them a microphone.
The party's surge in the May 2025 local elections tells a story of real change. Founded as the Brexit Party in 2018 before rebranding in 2021, Reform UK has connected with voters who feel they haven’t been listened to and democracy isn’t working.
If you agree with that story or not, it's one that is being told across the British media.
However, the numbers do in fact tell a stark story. Reform UK captured County Durham Council, after a century of Labour dominance. They won the Runcorn parliamentary by-election by just six votes. They secured two regional mayoralties in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire. Nationwide, they won 677 council seats.
This represents a profound shift in how millions of Britons view their relationship with political parties. Millions voting for a party that didn’t exist a few years ago.
National polling now shows a remarkably close three-way race with Labour at 24%, Reform UK at 23%, and Conservatives at 22% – a situation without precedent in modern British politics.
This points to something important about our democratic infrastructure. People want their voices heard. They need to feel their lived experiences inform decisions affecting their communities. They want change, or maybe reform?
The Human Cost of Democratic Disconnect
Behind these “electoral earthquakes” lies a deeper story about democratic alienation. Local election turnout averaged just 30-40% across contested areas. Hardly confirmation that democracy can can affect change.
The Electoral Commission reports that 31% of Britons believe UK elections are "manipulated or rigged to some extent" – rising to 42% among young adults.
Luke O'Donoughue, Local Democracy Reporter for North West Suffrago spoke to voters in the Runcorn by-election. Asking if they trust politicans to represent you one man said “I use to but just [with] the government we had previously, it made me more wary that they'll do the opposite of what they are saying”.
When asked what his message to his MP would be, it was simply “listen to me”.
Their stories reflect a British Social Attitudes Surveyfinding that only 45% of respondents would “almost never” trust politicians to act in the public interest.
Meanwhile, our electoral system itself exacerbates the problem. The Electoral Reform Society found that 57.8% of voters in the 2024 general election ended up with an MP they didn't vote for. Small wonder so many feel unrepresented.
Our Democratic Tools Must Evolve
The surge in Reform UK support reveals something fundamental: our democratic tools no longer match the voice people in the UK want. In an age where people can instantly rate their Uber driver or give feedback on their lunch delivery, waiting four years to express an opinion on vital services feels archaic.
People want their MP’s to “listen to them”. This means not two ballots every decade. They crave transparency and context for decisions affecting their communities. They demand accountability mechanisms to combat the lack of trust.
The solution isn't fewer elections or abandoning representative democracy.
Instead, we can build a more responsive connective tissue between formal democratic moments.
Bridging the Democratic Divide
This is precisely why we created Suffrago – to provide the missing link between citizens and those making decisions on their behalf.
Suffrago enables people to express opinions on issues that matter to them, collects these voices, and presents them alongside relevant contextual data to help decision-makers understand not just what people think, but why.
Our platform allows constituents to rate how their MP voted on specific legislation, creating an accountability mechanism previously unavailable. We provide constituency-level data dashboards that help everyone understand local issues in context, cutting through partisan noise to reveal actual community needs.
Most importantly, Suffrago maintains strict political neutrality. We don't push agendas or favour ideologies. We simply connect voices to power with the context needed for meaningful action.
A New Democratic Future
The changing political party makeup in the UK reveals a hunger for political connection that transcends traditional left-right divides. Today Reform UK are turning that disconnect into votes. But no matter what your opinions are on the party, there should always be a need to ensure democratic representation and expression of greivances.
People want responsive, transparent governance that acknowledges their lived experiences.
The old ways of engaging citizens no longer suffice in a world where people expect more immediate, meaningful participation.
Democracy must adapt to survive. At Suffrago, we're building tools for that adaptation – not to replace elections, but to strengthen what happens between them.
Experience how your voice can matter beyond the ballot box – join Suffrago today at https://www.suffrago.org
See what your area really thinks about local issues with our constituency insights: https://www.suffrago.org/findconstituency
Discover how your MP votes on issues affecting you: https://www.suffrago.org/findmp
Our democratic future depends not just on who wins elections, but on rebuilding the everyday connections between citizens and their representatives. Let’s get rebuilding.