Reform UK issues statement after councillor incident
Reform UK in Swindon have issued an official statement after one of their former councillors pleaded guilty to a criminal offence.
Councillor Lawrence Davies, 54, who represents the Rodbourne Cheney ward, admitted one criminal charges at Swindon Crown Court on Friday, October 23, after being accused of assault by beating, dangerous driving, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Davies, from Moredon, was also previously charged with failing to stop after a road collision, failing to report that collision, and driving without insurance, but these charges were not mentioned during the hearing on October 23.
While in the dock, he admitted to one count of assault by beating on April 13 this year, but added: “I did not beat anyone, I threw a sweater, I did not make contact.”
The clerk and judge then advised him to only speak to confirm his pleas.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of dangerous driving on Kingsdown Road on April 13 and one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice by using fake registration plates on a Peugeot between April 12 and 22.
He is due to stand trial for these charges on July 28 next year.
Davies has been released on unconditional bail until that time.
Councillor Sara Godwin, leader of the Reform UK group in Swindon, has provided an update on his affiliation with the party.
She said: “I can confirm the sequence of events regarding Lawrence Davies’ departure from Reform UK.
“On 26 August 2026 at 11:33am, Lawrence Davies was formally notified of his suspension from Reform UK.
“Approximately an hour later, he went to the press publicly announcing that he had resigned from Reform UK.
“However, at that point, we had received no formal resignation from him.”
“On 27 August 2026 at 3:55pm, following a majority vote of the Reform UK Swindon Council Group, we formally submitted the signed notification of his removal from the group.
“Late that evening, at 9:02pm, as we had still received no formal resignation or direct communication from Lawrence Davies, we considered it appropriate to formally acknowledge and accept his publicly announced resignation rather than leave his membership status unresolved.”
“We therefore emailed him directly confirming that we were treating his public announcement of his resignation from Reform UK (as his resignation).”
Cllr Godwin confirmed that since August 27, Mr Davies has had no affiliation with Reform UK or the Reform UK Swindon Council Group.
She said: “As of 27 August 2026, Lawrence Davies became an Independent councillor on Swindon Borough Council, a position he continues to hold.”
Cllr Godwin said that his public announcement followed his suspension, and his removal from the council group was formally agreed and submitted following a majority vote.
After the hearing on October 23, Davies told the Adver, in relation to his guilty plea to the assault charge: “I’m sorry for my mistake, I have changed and have tried to be more aware of how I act.”
Cllr Davies disputed the fact that he had been suspended from Reform at the time, alleging that he was not aware he had been suspended from the party until after he had resigned.
