After Clean Up Britain invited every main political party to work with it on litter and fly-tipping, Reform UK was the only party to respond.
Clean Up Britain (CLUB), the national anti-litter and fly-tipping campaign, today welcomed Reform UK’s commitment to tackling Britain’s litter and fly-tipping problem, following a press conference held in Millbank Tower.
A few weeks ago, CLUB publicly invited all the main political parties to work with it on the issue. Reform UK was the only party to respond. The party is now examining what action it could take at both the national and local levels to reduce litter across the country.
CLUB is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and a non-party political campaign. It has been clear that it will work with any party committed to serious, sustained action on litter and fly-tipping, and that it judges parties on results rather than statements.
The campaign describes Britain’s litter problem as severe and worsening. It points to research from 2025 indicating that 77% of people think the country’s litter problem has got worse in recent years, and to a YouGov survey earlier this year in which 49% of adults admitted to dropping litter in the previous 12 months. CLUB also notes that 85% of adults say they hate seeing rubbish in their communities.
CLUB argues that Britain is more consistently littered than most of its Western European neighbours. It cites the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, which in 2015 described England as “a litter-ridden country compared to most of Europe, North America and Japan”, and says the situation has deteriorated since.
The campaign attributes the problem to three groups: the millions of people who admit to dropping litter, the consumer brands whose packaging is discarded in large volumes across the country, and the public bodies that fail to keep their own land clear of litter. It has been particularly critical of the state of England’s motorways and major roads, and of National Highways, the body responsible for the strategic road network, which it says needs major reform.
CLUB’s campaign centres on changing public behaviour through education, social pressure and stronger enforcement, supported by a wider revival of civic pride and respect for shared spaces. It argues that this is the only durable way to reduce litter levels.
The campaign also paid tribute to the tens of thousands of volunteers who litter-pick across Britain every week, including groups such as the UK LitterPicking Group and the A27 Clean Up Campaign, describing their work as essential to keeping public spaces usable.
John Read, Founder and Managing Director of Clean Up Britain, said:
“Britain is suffering from a litter and fly-tipping epidemic. It is self-inflicted, it needs to end, and it needs serious commitment, leadership and action from central government. That leadership has been missing for decades.
We asked every main political party to work with us. Reform UK was the only one that responded, and they are already looking closely at what they can do at the national and local levels. I want to give them real credit for recognising that this issue matters to millions of people.
We are interested in results, not rhetoric. We will work with anyone, of any party, who is serious about cleaning up the country. Looking after the place we live should be something that unites us all.”
Richard Tice, Deputy Leader, Reform UK, said:
“If you look around at our parks, our streams, our countryside, it’s a mess… Successive Labour and Conservative governments have utterly failed at addressing this issue.
There’s nothing friendly about littering, about fly-tipping. It’s a national embarrassment, it’s a national disgrace.
[Reform call for] £5,000 fly-tipping fines… vehicle seized and second offence… for commercial fly-tipping, a minimum fine of £20,000.
We cannot accept the decline of the state and the look and feel of the country… We all have an individual responsibility to transform that sense of civic understanding of what is and isn’t acceptable.
We think a real shift can occur”
CLLR George Finch, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, Reform UK said:
“People are sick to the back teeth of seeing road signs that are not clean, graffiti everywhere, and litter overflowing.
You cannot put a plaster on this; this needs cultural change.
We refuse to let our cherished communities decay any longer… Clean Up Britain is how we start addressing our dwindling civic pride.:
We welcome these comments and policy commitments, but CLUB has restated that its door remains open to every political party prepared to commit to serious action on litter and fly-tipping.
If any major political party wants to get serious about this issue, then please do get in touch with Clean Up Britain.
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