Farage vow to cut Durham council jobs labelled a “disgrace”
Mr Farage advised anyone working on climate change or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be “seeking alternative careers very, very quickly”, in a speech in Newton Aycliffe on Friday.
Reform made major gains in County Durham last week, as the party won 65 seats to gain overall control of the authority.
Setting out his party’s agenda in local government, Mr Farage said Reform would look to scale back councils’ work “to what it ought to be”, by also ending working from home.
“We want to give council taxpayers better value for money. We want to reduce excessive expenditure,” he said.
But cross-party councillors paid tribute to dedicated and hardworking council workers who help maintain services beset by funding issues.
Councillor John Shuttleworth, leader of the Durham County Council Independent Group, criticised the comments and defended the hundreds of employees employed by the council behind the scenes.
He said: “Our workers do a good job to the best of their ability and always have done. I work well with these people, and I’m not prepared for them to be s*** on like that.”
“Council workers are the bread and butter. The people who cut the grass, empty the bins, fix the roads, put walls up, and chop trees down. Comments like that are a disgrace. If that’s the way Reform is talking about staff, it’s not something I’ll be subscribing to.”
On his first visit to the region during the election campaign, Mr Farage vowed to fix “broken” County Durham. A vintage Morris Minor bedecked in the party’s branding highlighted the amount spent on council schemes and initiatives, adding that Durham County Council “wastes your money”.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “There’s a very strong argument that money is being misallocated and misspent, and I get the feeling the county council runs for itself almost more than the residents and the voters.”
But Labour said the “repellent” comments suggest a “complete lack of understanding of the challenges faced”.
Rob Crute, Labour county councillor for Blackhalls and Hesledens, added: “What a classless way to celebrate what should have been a moment of triumph for his party.
“Durham County Council has brilliant employees who held the authority together through 14 years of crippling Tory austerity. To issue veiled threats against them in a victory speech was beyond low and speaks to the politics of division he enjoys so much.”
Conservative councillor Richard Bell, who spent four years as the council’s cabinet member for finance, warned: “The Reform rhetoric is very overblown.
“As far as I know, we don’t employ any officers on diversity, equity and inclusion, and the net zero initiatives we have done have been taking advantage of government grants to do things like putting solar panels on leisure centres, which save money as well as carbon dioxide emissions.”
Outgoing Council Leader Amanda Hopgood added: “Reform councillors will soon find out that the staff he has alienated in such a sweeping statement are the same people who will be responsible for delivering their political priorities. So far, all we have heard about is national policies which local government has absolutely no control over, in particular the issue of immigration and boats.”
Other councillors said Reform’s vow to stop employees working from home would conflict with the council’s plans to relocate its head offices.
Former Conservative councillor Luke Allan Holmes added: “The reality is that we do not have sufficient accommodation for all our council staff, so if Reform is to ban remote working, then they’ll need to build more office accommodation – at great cost to the taxpayer.”
Mr Farage also revealed a desire to create a British equivalent of Doge – referring to the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency, which is slashing government spending in the US, in every council.
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Newly elected Reform UK councillor Darren Grimes said his party will call in the auditors on “day one” to “wipe out the waste” of net zero projects and green initiatives in order to fill in potholes.
The Annfield Plain and Tanfield councillor said: “Priorities like that are our priorities, we are the people’s party, and we’re going to deliver for them in every way that we possibly can. I promise you people that I’ve seen in there are touched beyond belief at the faith and trust that the public has put in us, so it’s time to deliver for them.”
Mr Farage’s comments caused Unison to urge council staff to join unions. UNISON Northern regional head of local government Conor McArdle said: “Instead of thanking staff, Nigel Farage’s first remarks were to threaten council workers, ignoring the professionalism, expertise and dedication staff bring to a large variety of roles serving local communities. This must stop.”