A newly elected councillor has quit Reform UK after she was suspended over comments she made on social media just days after the party enjoyed a breakthrough performance in last week’s local elections. Donna Edmunds, who won a seat representing Hodnet in Shropshire, announced on Sunday she had been suspended “pending an investigation” following a post on X (formerly Twitter) in which she discussed her intention to leave the party.

In the post, Ms Edmunds said she had been reprimanded for urging voters to back Reform UK in the short term, despite expressing concerns about the party’s long-term direction. Party officials accused her of bringing Reform “into disrepute” by making such comments publicly. Her suspension follows local elections, which saw Reform UK secure more than 600 council seats across England – a dramatic result for the party and a major signal of discontent with the Conservatives and Labour in key areas. Reform surged in several former Tory strongholds, outperforming expectations and establishing itself as a serious electoral force ahead of the next General Election.

However, the momentum was overshadowed in part by internal rifts and growing unease over the party’s leadership style.

Ms Edmunds referenced the earlier suspension of Rupert Lowe, a former Brexit Party MEP and prominent Reform candidate, who was dropped by the party after posting a tweet about “foreigners” that was widely criticised as inflammatory. His removal triggered internal backlash, with several local branches resigning in protest and accusing the leadership of betraying grassroots campaigners.

In a statement posted on social media, Ms Edmunds wrote: “Yesterday I woke up feeling very proud to be one of Reform’s 677 new councillors. This morning I woke up to an email from head office advising me that I have been suspended from the party ‘pending an investigation’.”

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She added: “Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend Reform their support for the short term – for Thursday’s elections – even if they felt they couldn’t for the long term. According to head office, ‘this has brought the party into disrepute and damaged the interests of the party.’”

Ms Edmunds also criticised the party’s treatment of Mr Lowe, saying his suspension triggered a “wave of resignations”, with some branches quitting en masse in protest.

She said she had considered standing down before the election, but was asked to stay on the ballot by her local branch chair due to a shortage of candidates.

She wrote: “Out of loyalty to the party at the local level – all good, hard-working people who merely want to live in a country that works for them – I agreed and remained on the ballot.”

A Reform UK spokesman said: “The reason for her suspension is that she posted on social media that she intended to defect to another party.“