Reform UK's First Mayor Walks Away From Sky News Interview In Clash Over 'Appropriate' Politics

Andrea Jenkyns on Sky NewsAndrea Jenkyns clashed with a Sky News reporter this morning over the way she conducted her mayoral election campaign.The former Tory minister was just elected to be Reform UK’s first mayor in the Greater Lincolnshire contest, in a major blow to Labour.But the fight to win the mayoral seat was a “dirty” one, Jenkyns claimed in her victory speech.So Sky News’ political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh asked her: “You just used your speech to smear other candidates and bring up all of that dirty laundry. Do you think that’s appropriate?”Jenkyns replied: “Well, I ask you, if the police were called on you for something unfounded, if you were reported to the council, for something that was unfounded, wouldn’t you want to speak out about it?”The new mayor said she will “always call out bad behaviour”, and “it’s important to restore trust in politics by speaking the truth”.Barker-Singh replied: “All the candidates left halfway through your speech, they were so disgusted by what you said. I spoke to the Tory candidate – he left when you said migrants should be put in tents.“Do you think that’s a divisive way of conducting politics?”“I think that’s what the silent majority think,” Jenkyns said.The reporter then asked what the Reform mayor meant when she called out another candidate’s “South African accent” after they accused of her of being “parachuted” into the seat.“What I meant is how can they say I’ve been parachuted in when I’ve spent most of my life in Lincolnshire,” Jenkyns said. “The irony of saying someone’s been parachuted in who is not even from the country. I went to school, college, university...”Barker-Singh said: “So someone who has got an accent can’t be from this county?”“I think actually I’m not even going to answer any more of your questions,” Jenkyns hit back: “I think your questioning is quite divisive, you’re looking into things when it was a little play with words, it was a little irony. Do you not understand irony?”She began to walk away, while Barker-Singh tried to say that Reform have a “reputation for these divisive politics”.But the politician said: “I’m not going to answer your questions, thank you very much.”She then told another journalist she only wanted “sensible questions”.The first-ever mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Reform's Dame Andrea Jenkins, refuses to answer questions from Sky's @serenabarksing on her comments about a fellow mayoral candidate's South African accent.https://t.co/TC2ROCL7wW📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/u2QtSwlpHq— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 2, 2025Related...Andrea Jenkyns Is Now Reform UK’s First Mayor – Here Are Her Most Unforgettable MomentsA Controversial Former Tory Minister Has Become Reform UK's First MayorLabour Narrowly Sees Off Reform UK Surge To Win Mayoral Elections

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