Reform UK has said that it will field a candidate in every one of Cornwall’s 87 council divisions at the local authority’s election on May 1.

The party’s spokesperson in the Duchy says support is growing for Reform in Cornwall because it “does politics differently”.

Reform, which describes itself as “offering common sense policies on immigration, the cost of living, energy and national sovereignty”, saw the most prospective candidates of any party at last month’s Councillor Fair at Lys Kernow / County Hall, Truro. The event provided an opportunity to learn about being a county, city, town or parish councillor in preparation for the forthcoming council elections.

Rob Parsonage, Cornwall organiser and spokesperson for Reform UK, said: “Following the General Election, the next logical thing to be involved in was the council elections, so we started working on that shortly afterwards. With the way that the party has evolved, we saw this as the next logical step across the country.

“Now with elections being curtailed in various areas, Cornwall is one of those still going forward so we’ve maintained that momentum. I think there is a groundswell of support for Reform across the whole of the country. You can see that in all the various polls that have taken place. Reform has moved forward from where we were at the General Election.

“I think it’s because we do politics differently. We do talk about things openly and straightly. If you look at the other mainstream parties, there’s not a lot of difference between them in reality. I think we stand out – there are policies we have which are different to the mainstream ones, which are all traditional.”

“It will be on local issues – there are things like how we deal with student grants. Today students, like my son, have £54,000 worth of debt. He will never pay it off. With Reform, you start paying that off on day one, so you don’t end up with the debt over you all the time.

“Then you’ve got the policies that Labour have brought in since they’ve come to power. That’s another aspect that is drawing more people to Reform. The winter fuel payments is a big one. I don’t think it was well considered.”

“I think it’s starting to become an issue.” He said the matter of hotels potentially being used for migrants was raised at a Cornish town council last week. “There are a number of letters that have gone to the MPs asking them if they know of hotels being used for migrants be they those that we obviously welcome, who are here for real reasons – for example, the Afghan supporters of our armed services – and then there are those who are economic migrants coming over to make a better life for themselves. There is a start of awareness in Cornwall about it.”

“I would say that Reform is more centre right. It is certainly not on the extreme right that some would portray the party as. Nigel (Farage), and the other MPs, have been very clear about their stance, which is well documented.”

Mr Parsonage, who will be standing for a council seat himself, lives in Torpoint, was brought up in Kingsand and Cawsand and served with the Royal Navy for 30 years. He retired in 2001 and then worked in nuclear decommissioning.

He then returned to the UK as head of nuclear safety at Devonport dockyard.

Like many Reform members, he was a lifelong Tory who has grown disillusioned with the party. He said the local branch of Reform has to decide which candidates will stand for which council division after prospective members are vetted. “It will be real democratisation – no parachuting anyone in to safe seats or anything like that at all.”

“It’s a wide spectrum, which is what you want in the council. There is a taxi driver who wants to stand, businessmen, we’ve got some youngsters as well, one as young as 22. They’re the future of the party and future politicians.

“We were the largest party at the Councillor Fair. We had around 30 candidates there. The Lib Dems had to move offices as we needed the bigger one.”

Speaking before Cornwall Council’s Conservative leader Linda Taylor announced she is retiring from the council at the May election, Mr Parsonage added: “I think Cornwall Council needs some redirection. I think they work extremely hard and have had challenging times.

“Given the debt at the council has gone up steadily since 2017 and is £1-billion now, I asked Linda Taylor what she would do to reduce the debt if she received another term. The answer came back it would be a struggle to keep going next year with the financial packages we’ve got. So there was no answer on how we would start reducing that debt.

“We can’t keep going as we are. Cornwall is the 12th most indebted council in the UK. Something needs to be done differently.”