Romford’s Reform Referendum: Inside the borough that could ‘Brexit from London’
TArmy leaver Andrew Rosundall was greeted with rapturous applause when he promised Romford voters a referendum to leave Greater London and rejoin Essex at a Reform UK rally.
Romford, in the borough of Havering, just 20 minutes from central London, was part of the county of Essex until 1965; This decision still sparks controversy even after 46 years.
“You will know in your heart that Romford is Essex,” he said. “Yet decisions affecting your streets, transport, policing and housing are being decided miles away by the Greater London Authority, which neither understands our community nor represents the people of this area.”
Mr Rosundall’s argument for leaving the capital was eerily similar to points made in the Brexit referendum, where almost 70 per cent of voters voted in favor of leaving the European Union.
Romford resident Colin, who has lived in Havering for 45 years, describes the town as part of London but sees no problem with the city rejoining Essex as long as it does not lose the benefits of being part of the capital.
“As long as we have the benefits of getting out of Ulez but don’t lose the Freedom Bus pass, I think it would be a good business, yes,” he says.
While the center of the capital is packed with workers on Tuesday morning, Romford is quieter; Pensioners and pram pushers stroll through the many shopping malls or stop at greasy spoon cafes on the high street.
Other parts of east London have become hotspots for trendy bars and cafes now associated with gentrification, but Havering clings on to remnants of old east London; There is still a thriving pie and mash shop in the center of Romford, an increasingly rare sight around the city.
It is also the second least diverse district in the capital. Nearby Newham and Redbridge both have over 60 per cent non-white populations, according to the 2021 Census. The non-white population in Havering stands at just 24.7 per cent.
Although the number of licensed traders has gradually decreased over the years, the region is known for its lively market on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Linda, 71, who has lived in Havering for 60 years, said: “It’s like a ghost town sometimes, even the market, how crowded the market used to be here. God, it’s ruined now.” [hill].
“If you come tomorrow, Sunday, you will see that the stalls are not the same as before. The difference is that the people, the shops, the towns are closing.”
He thought Romford was still part of Essex and was particularly critical of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez); This sparked a fierce backlash on the fringes of the capital after London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan extended the project to the M25 border in 2023.
“When [Sir Sadiq] “He brought the Ulez incident, we had to get rid of our car,” he says: “And this turned us against him.”
But not all residents supported a return to Essex. Hope Cafe worker Mark said: “I hope we never leave London because we enjoy it so much.
“I guess it’s just that people still wish it was the 1970s,” they added. “Romford voted overwhelmingly for Brexit and like Brexit, everyone else voted for it and then people were surprised that things didn’t work out the way they wanted. It strikes me as a bit like the same kind of populism as that, but just more targeted at locals, which is really sad.”
Robert Wilkinson, who has lived in Romford for 13 years, said that although he was pro-Brexit, he did not think the borough should separate from London.
“The idea of holding a referendum to separate ourselves from London, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t make much sense to me,” he said. “I think being part of London…is an important part of Havering.
“I remember when I first came here I asked people what the great thing about Romford was and at the time I was told it wasn’t a good thing, but it was the party capital of London.”
He added: “London will always have a say in what goes on in your neighbourhood.”
Ediz Şahin, the manager of Cafe Bueno on the High Street, thought leaving the capital would boost local businesses. “I think it might be a good thing to avoid London’s taxes,” he said.
“If it reduces business rates it’s good, why not?…If it helps reduce the Ulez area…I’m sure there will be more visitors to Romford.”
Mr Rosundall said Independent Havering believed that if it left the Greater London Authority and became a unitary authority, the borough could buy out services such as the Freedom Pass, which provides free public transport to people of retirement age or with certain disabilities.
“We would only pay for what we get. We wouldn’t pay exorbitant amounts to be used in Lambeth, Southwark and Harringay, we would end all that. So we would buy the service we need, so we would no longer subsidize inner London.”
Reflecting on the parallels with Brexit, he said: “Some people have called it ‘Hexit’, which is ‘Havering Exit’.
“I think it’s different to the European Union in many ways, but there are parallels because we’re now part of something called the Greater London Authority which is quite opaque, no one really knows who’s running it and what’s going on. We don’t have a real say in it.”
“The Greater London Assembly is a waste of time, they have no power.”
Keith Darvill, Labor leader councilor for Havering and former MP for Upminster, described the idea of leaving Greater London as “nonsense”.
“It is not possible for this to happen overnight. The legislation needs to be changed at the first stage,” he said.
On whether the Freedom Bus Pass can be kept, he adds: “I don’t think so. [Mr Rosindell] understands how this works. This is an agreement made collectively between London councils. “So every borough is paying into the pool to make this happen, but you would need to get that cooperation from every other borough of London.”
He said not only would the government and London councils have to approve the decision, but Havering Council, where no party has had overall control since 2014, would also have to approve the referendum. “I don’t know anyone, even in the local Conservative Party, who would want to do that.”
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “Sadiq has been re-elected as Mayor on behalf of all Londoners for a historic third term and has pledged to work tirelessly to deliver services for every London borough, including Havering.
“Residents in Havering benefit from the 60+ Transport for London Oyster card, which gives free travel to people aged 60 and over, and families in Havering save £500 per child per year thanks to the Mayor’s free school meals scheme for all state primary school children in London.
“The Mayor will continue to work closely with local authorities across London to improve the lives of communities and build a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.”
Professor Colin Copus, visiting fellow at local policy think tank Localis, described the idea of Havering leaving Greater London as “unusual”, given local government’s history of growing rather than shrinking.
“I can see that the slogan ‘Roxit – take back control from Sadiq Khan’ is already a slogan,” he joked. “The difference is that when we left the European Union, the idea was that all these rules, regulations, laws, all the restrictions of the EU would no longer apply.
“This idea was soon abandoned by subsequent governments, but if you create another council it would still be subject to all the restrictions, all the legislation that controls what local government can do.”
But the idea of bringing local government closer to communities is not without merit, he said.
“We’ve been deluded by this kind of technocratic idea that bigger is always better, more efficient, more effective and cheaper, and it’s definitely not,” he added.
“My research has found that anything that brings local government closer to the people, makes it more geographically compact, based on real localities that people relate to, is better than creating huge new unitary councils that ultimately no-one will identify with.”
