Durham Labour leader’s message to Sir Keir Starmer after Reform UK win
Labour, which controlled Durham County Council for a century until it lost control in 2021, was all but wiped out in Thursday’s local elections.
The party saw just four of its 98 councillor candidates elected, with its leader on the council, Carl Marshall, ousted by Reform UK.
It comes just 10 months after voters here helped Labour secure one of the biggest political landslides in a generation at last July’s General Election.
Former Cllr Carl Marshall told the Echo: “Democracy has spoken, residents across County Durham have sent a very clear message to the Labour Party and we know from conversations we’ve had on the doorstep this election hasn’t been about local council services and issues.
See the full results here
“I’d invite Keir Starmer and members of the frontbench to come up to County Durham, to talk to our communities and speak to some of our fantastic candidates to work together to rebuild trust with our key voters to encourage them to come back and vote Labour in the future.
Sir Keir Starmer. (Image: CHRIS BOOTH)
“But we can only do that by listening to what people have said and changing, and listening to the issues that they face every day, being able to come up with some credible policies that tackle some of those problems that people encounter.
“After 14 years of Tory governments stripping back public services, people and communities are literally on their knee,s and that’s going to take a little time to rebuild.”
One Labour staffer was seen crying with red eyes as she left the counting hall in Consett.
Mr Marshall urged Reform to “put the communities of County Durham first”.
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“They’ve set out their stall, which was very loose on detail. They need to be very clear on how they’re going to deal with some of our most vulnerable residents and tackle the issues in County Durham.”
Speaking of his time as a councillor, he added: “It’s been an absolute pleasure, I’ve enjoyed every day representing the people of Stanley.
“I’m Stanley through and through. The voluntary work I do in the community, I don’t do that because I’m a councillor, that’ll continue, and I love it. Clearly, I’ll have a bit more time on my hands and I’ll take a few weeks to reflect on things.”