Reform UK has lost control of Worcestershire County Council after being overthrown by a coalition of Conservatives, Green Party, Liberal Democrats, and independents - a group that apparently found common cause in agreeing that someone else should be in charge.
Following a full council meeting on Thursday morning, Green councillor Matt Jenkins was made the new council leader, ending Reform's minority administration after 12 months in power. Reform had 24 of the 57 seats, which is enough to cause chaos but not enough to govern effectively, as they discovered.
The party's troubles were compounded by internal strife: former council leader Jo Monk remains suspended from the party after losing a bitter internal leadership battle. She was removed last month for "refusing to accept the democratic decision of the Reform UK group," which is a bit like being expelled from a club for not following the club's rules. Her son, fellow Reform councillor Ashley Monk, has also been suspended for reportedly bringing the party into disrepute - a family affair that would make a great reality TV pilot.
Monk's tenure was marked by a 9% council tax increase and the authority needing £59.9 million in emergency government help to avoid effective bankruptcy. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the council as "bankrupt" but added, "We didn't make it bankrupt, we inherited it." Farage also said he wished the party "hadn't bothered" to take minority control of the authority because of its financial problems - a sentiment that probably resonates with anyone who's ever accepted a job they immediately regretted.