This article first appeared on NottinghamshireLive and has been republished with permission from the author

As a journalist, I have always been a huge supporter of democracy.

It’s heartening to see when enough people get behind a movement, it can make a genuine change to who is in charge of your local council or in power in government.

I respect people voting for who they think will bring the biggest successes to their local areas.

Reform was the big story at the latest local elections in England, taking control of several councils and winning more than 1,450 seats. The people spoke and they got what they wanted.

Regular readers of my publication [Nottinghamshire Live and Nottingham Post] will know we’ve got previous with Reform, however. Elected members at Nottinghamshire County Council banned Nottingham Post reporters from speaking to councillors, receiving press releases and from attending taxpayer-funded events (like the opening of a park or new road).

That was all because of one article we wrote about a disagreement behind the scenes concerning local government reorganisation. We went on the defensive, bringing global media attention to the issue and eventually forcing them to back down with a legal challenge.

So I watched the results roll in at the end of last week and hoped all of our efforts........

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