Former Conservative Councillor Who Defected to Reform UK Resigns from All Committees

Move follows claims the disgraced town councillor may not be seeking re-election in 2026...

3rd October 2025

The controversy surrounding Hartlepool councillor Mike Young has deepened this week after its been revealed he's resigned from all council committees, just months after defecting from the Conservatives to Reform UK in August 2025.

Cllr Young, who represents Hartlepool’s Rural West ward, formally announced his decision to step away from his involvement at council meetings this evening. The move follows growing speculation that he may not be intending to seek re-election in 2026, with sources suggesting he has been “rethinking” his political future in the wake of a fierce public backlash following his switch to Reform UK & could be set to bow out of political life in just months.

Scores of Reform UK Members quit their memberships of the party after party chairman Amanda Napper (Second Left) allowed Cllr Mike Young (right) to be admitted into the party & to cross the council floor

The decision to admit Cllr Young into Reform UK sparked anger among members just months ago, with reports suggesting scores of Reform Members sensationally quit the party in protest. Many accusing local party chairman Amanda Napper—herself only recently elected—of forcing through his membership without consultation.

Critics branded Cllr Young’s track record as “toxic”, warning it would undermine Reform UK’s ambition to unseat Labour and seize control of Hartlepool Borough Council in the 2026 elections.

Whilst some insiders blame ill health for his decision to step back from committee work, others insist Reform UK has finally listened to its members & grown 'wary' of the damage caused by his defection. Several party members who spoke to us recently now privately believe his political career is effectively finished, with many expecting the Conservatives to re-claim the Rural West seat in 2026 despite Reform's national political dominance.

Scandal after Scandal led to his political leadership being ripped into shreds, & Labour taking back control of Hartlepool Borough Council

Cllr Young’s career has been marred by scandal after scandal. His leadership of Hartlepool Borough Council however eventually collapsed in disgrace after he was found guilty of misleading both councillors and residents over plans for a council tax freeze. Another Conservative councillor, Tom Cassidy, was also implicated in the same scandal and later lost his seat in the 2024 local elections.

With a chequered record and mounting local opposition, few expect Cllr Young to survive the political storm when voters go to the polls in May 2026 suggesting Cllr Youngs political career is about to fall into one of the worst political falls from grace seen in Hartlepool for many years.