'They're trying to muzzle debate!' Reform UK slam Labour’s refusal to share secret agreement for airport lease

The local authority is currently attempting to reopen the airport after Doncaster Sheffield Airport's landowner closed it in 2022.

The Yorkshire Post found a private copy of the 125-year lease signed between the council and Peel, which means the later could terminate the lease if planning permission was not granted for applications to build up to 1,400 homes near the airport site.

The leak caused outrage at a City of Doncaster Council meeting on Thursday, with councillors demanding answers on why this clause was never revealed to elected members when they were asked to approve a £57million loan in November 2025, which was understood to be the crux for the reopening project.

At the meeting, the Labour chairman Tim Needham refused to place on the agenda a motion calling for open debate and proper scrutiny of the airport lease arrangements.

Instead, Labour Mayor Ros Jones stated she was considering allowing Reform UK councillors to see the lease, but only on the condition they agree not to disclose what it contains.

Nigel Farage's party argue this is an attempt to gag elected representatives and prevent the people of Doncaster from learning the truth. Irwen Martin, chairman of Reform UK Doncaster, told GB News: “This is Labour trying to muzzle debate. They blocked discussion in the Council Chamber, and now the Mayor is offering to show us the lease only if we agree to keep quiet about what it says.

"That is not transparency, it is a cover-up and Reform UK will not be silenced. The people of Doncaster are entitled to know what this Labour Mayor has committed them to.

"She was re-elected last May by the slimmest of margins - just 698 votes - and that makes openness and accountability even more important, not less.

"We are seeing a worrying pattern nationally too, where Labour has tried to deny democratic elections elsewhere - something Reform is challenging through the courts. Doncaster deserves better than secrecy, stitch-ups, and closed-door politics.”

Following the May 2025 local elections, Reform UK stormed to a council majority in Doncaster and holds 37 of the 55 seats, securing an overall majority. Despite this, Ms Jones won the directly elected mayoral race for a fourth term and she and her hand-picked cabinet make around 95 per cent of the key decisions.

It means for nearly every single policy issue and decision, the mayor requires no input from the council chamber.

Due to the council’s directly elected mayor system, Reform UK does not have the power to suspend financial commitments already agreed to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, such as the £57million loan approved in November 2025.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the members of the planning committee in approving the applications.

Reform UK also cannot affect the nearly £160million approved by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority in September 2025.

A South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) spokesman told the People's Channel: “SYMCA has worked with City of Doncaster Council (CDC) since the closure of DSA to bring an airport back to South Yorkshire to deliver jobs and opportunities to our communities.

“In September last year, conditional approval of £159.52m was given to support the reopening of the airport.

“As was made clear in reports that went to September’s SYMCA board, the release of this funding is subject to meeting conditions designed to mitigate the risks highlighted in those board reports, including those related to the superior headlease.

“Work to meet these conditions has continued since, with positive progress made. Satisfactory completion of them remains a condition of funding being released.

“We continue to work with CDC to deliver the benefits a re opened DSA can deliver for communities across South Yorkshire.”

City of Doncaster Council and Peel have been approached for a comment.

When Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in November 2022, it left South Yorkshire one of the largest UK city regions without an international aviation presence.

Since it closed, local businessman and campaigner Mark Chadwick rallied for its re-opening. And the Mayors of South Yorkshire and Doncaster, along with local authority partners and central government, worked together to return aviation to the region through a reopened airport with a viable future.

It is intended the reopened airport will be a catalyst for wider development investment around the site, potentially creating thousands of jobs. While initial hopes were for a 2026 passenger launch, current plans suggest a phased approach, with freight potential this year and full operations in 2028.

The airport started life as an airfield used by the Royal Flying Corps in World War 1. It was later developed and renamed as Robin Hood Airport, supporting commercial flights from 2005 to destinations including Majorca, Alicante, and Paris, and various other holiday hotspots.

But it was forced to close in 2022 after Peel deemed it financially “unviable”, citing various factors including plateauing passenger numbers.

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