Call for resignation after Reform UK member’s ICE comments

A call has been made for a member of a Devon council to resign after comments about supporting the techniques being used in America to deport illegal immigrants.

Councillor Ed Tyldesley (Liberal Democrat, Chulmleigh & Landkey) has written to Devon’s Reform leader to request that Councillor Mick Cockerham (Newton Abbot South) resign over comments he made on social media.
Cllr Tyldesley said the comments bring Devon County Council into disrepute, claiming the language is “wholly unacceptable and dangerous”.
However, Cllr Cockerham said his comments were about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) techniques surrounding deporting illegal immigrants and stressed he would “want nobody physically hurt in any removals”.
And the county council itself does not believe the Nolan Principles – which guide conduct of elected representatives – have been breached.
The flare-up comes as controversy has erupted in the US this month after two US citizens in Minnesota have been shot dead by ICE agents amid ongoing efforts to deport individuals living in America without the correct permissions.
On a Facebook post by Reform UK Newton Abbot Branch, an admin has posted a picture of Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, apparently stating that Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK nationally, would bring an ICE-style crackdown to Britain.
The admin says “can’t wait” at the top of the post, which then has five comments underneath, including a now deleted one by Cllr Cockerham.
His comment said: “Here’s hoping we might see the same ICE correction techniques for woke interfering lefties.”
Cllr Tyldesley said in his letter to Councillor Michael Fife Cook (Reform UK, Yelverton Rural), who leads the Reform UK group on the county council, that he had “serious concerns” about the comments by Cllr Cockerham, adding that he wanted to “formally request that you instruct him to resign from his position as a county councillor”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Tyldesley said he was “not playing politics” and felt “very strongly” about the issue.
“My two main reasons for writing the letter are that politicians in the UK must abide by the Nolan Principles, and we all have our public life scrutinised, so calling for ICE-style [tactics] to be brought to the UK is not honest and decent, and is aimed at a certain part of our population,” he said.
“Also, it is in our constitution that we as councillors are expected not to bring the council into disrepute, and this does.
“Cllr Cockerham uses this Facebook account to talk to residents and then goes and calls for this violence. I think those reasons are enough for him to step down.”
But Cllr Cockerham said he “gathered where [Cllr Tyldesley] was going with his comments”, but had absolutely not condoned violence.
“I will stress, I want nobody physically hurt in any removals,” he said.
“But I will accept there will be upset and resistance from the left, as clearly shown already. 
“Reform will seem, to a few, to be the bad guys and if you support deportations, you’ll always upset some.”
He added that figures he found via an internet search showed ICE had removed around 370,000 illegal immigrants from the US “despite interference from opposition parties” but did not state over what timeframe this was.
Data on the ICE website states there were 71,405 removals in the 2025 calendar year. This rises to 342,899 if 2024 figures are added.
“Yet ICE has still managed to make significant arrests and deportations,” he said.
“[This means] their techniques must be sufficient to still manage the enormous task they have.
“I imagine, when we adopt a similar system, our techniques should be as good as the American system. Detect, detain and deport.”
But Cllr Tyldesley said had been contacted by some residents saying they “feel unsafe” with a councillor making such comments.
In his letter, he said: “I have been contacted by dozens of residents this morning, all expressing genuine fear and concern about the implications of a serving county councillor publicly expressing enthusiasm for violent law enforcement tactics being used against political opponents.
“As group leader, you [Cllr Fife Cook] have a responsibility to uphold standards of conduct and to provide clear leadership.
“In my view, this situation has passed the point at which a private admonishment or expression of regret would be sufficient. Cllr Cockerham’s comments demonstrate a profound lack of judgment that is incompatible with the role of a county councillor.”
Cllr Fife Cook has responded to Cllr Tyldesley, including offering a meeting between them both alongside Cllr Cockerham, but the offer was declined by the Lib Dem member.
In his email to Cllr Tyldesley, Cllr Fife Cook said: “ If you wish to add to the ever-growing number of complaints flying around County Hall, from one councillor complaining about another councillor, that is your right.
“All I would say is it might be wise to ask your leader, because I am sure he, like myself, has better things to use his time on.
“Maybe the way forward is not in wasting each other’s and officers’ time, and to try to address this misunderstanding and passion eyeball to eyeball with Mick Cockerham.”
Cllr Tyldesley added that he would “very much welcome an apology” from Cllr Cockerham but did not want to meet with him at present.
Any such meeting is unlikely to happen soon anyway, given Cllr Cockerham said he was “just about to board a plane to some far off country and won’t be available for some weeks”.
Devon County Council said it would respond to a request for comment on the issue.