Residents association calls for by-election for ‘absent’ Northampton councillor

The group has said they feel 'let down' by his engagement, however a party spokesperson said a by-election isn't called by ‘Facebook posts’ or ‘campaign groups’

Nadia Lincoln Local Democracy Reporter | Monday 18th May 2026 1:50pm

A Northampton residents’ association has called for a by-election in their ward, as they have accused a local councillor of being “completely absent”.

Cllr Nicholas Humphries was elected to represent the Kingsley and Semilong ward for Reform UK at the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) elections in May last year. Since then, the Kingsley and Links View Residents Association (KLVRA) and other local businesses have called out the councillor for failing to engage with the community.

The party’s leader on WNC has said that a by-election is not called by ‘Facebook posts’ or ‘campaign groups’ and that Cllr Humphries is “well supported by fellow councillors and cabinet members in his ward work”.

A statement shared on the KLVRA Facebook page last week said: “Cllr Humphries has been completely absent from the day he was elected in May 2025. We’ve had a year of zero action, not replying to residents and not attending ward events, yet he takes the £16,000 councillor allowance.

“The administration recognised and accepted our concerns last year, and gave us a formal commitment to support him into the role. We agreed to step off any further criticism until January 26. We extended that agreement to allow further time.

“However their support has sadly not been successful. KLVRA is grateful for Reform’s cabinet members’ help on some ward issues in Cllr Humphries absence.

“BUT .. this isn’t good enough. No matter how hard working our other councillor Aldridge is, one councillor cannot possibly represent 14,000 residents of this ward in everything from waste and rubbish, schools, roads, pavements, planning, funding, housing, social care and all else. It isn’t political, there are good and bad councillors of all rosette colours.

“We deserve better. Surely it’s time for a by-election to allow a committed person, regardless of party, to take up this important role.”

Since the first annual meeting of WNC under the new administration, which took place on May 15, 2025, Cllr Humphries has been present at 15 meetings, with a 58 per cent attendance record. The Facebook post also makes the point that this would equate to over £1,000 per meeting, if no other work is being done.

Cllr Humphries sits on WNC’s non-strategic planning committee, though he has not attended a meeting since December. He is also expected to attend full council alongside all other elected members and was last present in February, sending apologies for the last two meetings in March.

Jayne West, who is chair of KLVRA, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they had met with the Reform UK administration in November last year to share frustrations raised by residents.

Now, over six months on from their meeting and a full year into his tenure as an elected member on WNC, the Residents Association has claimed they still struggle to engage with Cllr Humphries, despite inviting him to residents’ meetings, ward walkabouts and offering space for community surgeries.

She said: “People don’t really understand how important local councillors are. Pre-unitary we had five councillors, we now have two and we only have one that’s active.

“We feel let down and would rather not have this barrier to negotiate, given the need locally for an improvement in council services and investment into our long-neglected area of central Northampton.”

Vice chair of the association, Nuala Morgan, also criticised the councillor for setting up an automated email on his councillor contact instead of responding to residents directly.

The automatic reply, which the LDRS has received, tells residents to contact Cllr Charlie Hastie (a Reform UK cabinet member representing Woodford and Weedon) or his fellow ward councillor Farzana Aldridge (Lib Dem) for support with local issues. It has no return date listed on the out of office.

“We need a by-election, we can’t mess about anymore,” she told the LDRS.

Local business owner Claire Wallace-Sims, who runs Click Antiques at Kingsley Park Terrace, claimed she has had no contact with Cllr Humphries since the local elections, despite forming good working relationships with previous elected members for the area.

“As far as I’m concerned, this guy doesn’t exist. We’ve just started up a business association and he didn’t come to that,” she said.

“He’s going to keep his role because he’s showing his face at meetings but he’s not showing his face anywhere else.

“This is about improving the area we represent – there’s no more integral part of being a councillor. It’s an area with massive potential, but it needs to be coordinated and our councillors are the ones supposed to be doing it.”

Another community group leader in the Semilong area said she had yet to meet Cllr Humphries despite her regular involvement in the local area.

She added: “There’s so much that needs doing in Semilong and it’s falling onto volunteers. He could be advocating for us, getting to know the people in the community, getting to know the residents, and he hasn’t been doing that.”

Fellow ward councillor, Cllr Farzana Aldridge, also said she had been made aware of “significant concern, anger and frustration” from local residents about the lack of engagement from her counterpart.

She said: “From my point of view, the role of a councillor is that of a public servant. Being the only active councillor, I’ve worked hard to ensure that issues raised by residents are followed up and they know that in me they have a local champion for them.

“It’s a real honour and privilege to have the opportunity to serve the communities of Kingsley and Semilong and they’re wonderful communities who really care about their local area, but the reality is it’s a large ward and it’s a two-member ward and having the ability to share that responsibility would be good.

“It seems that residents have the power to remove MPs who do not perform in a constituency, but appear to have no say when it comes to local councillors. Surely this system needs to be challenged and changed across the country.”

All elected members on WNC receive a basic annual allowance of around £16,000 and must attend at least one meeting every six months.

The only way for a councillor to lose their seat would be to fall short of this rule, become disqualified due to receiving a prison sentence, or if the individual decides to resign themself.

The LDRS has contacted Cllr Humphries to put the allegations to him and ask if he would be willing to provide any details of his ward work, but has not received a response.

Cllr Mark Arnull, leader of the Reform UK group on WNC, said: “A by-election isn’t called by Facebook posts or favoured campaign groups, however loudly they shout.

“Cllr Humphries is well supported by fellow councillors and cabinet members in his ward work, that can take many forms, not just an email or attendance at a meeting.”

He has also accused Cllr Aldridge of a “personal attack on a member of my party” despite being aware of Cllr Humphries’ “extenuating family circumstances”.

More News Headlines