EXCLUSIVE: Reform UK holds the levers of power in a part of the country where voters have delivered a massive kicking to the Labour Government.
Reform UK’s Darren Grimes questions Starmer’s government
Reform UK upended years of two-party political dominance earlier this month, snatching control of councils from both Labour and the Conservatives up and down the country. In red and blue heartlands, a turqouise tidal wave washed over England as Nigel Farage‘s outfit took control of 10 councils, won two mayoral races and gained a fifth MP at the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Reform’s wins led Mr Farage to declare he had broken the grip of both Labour and the Conservatives on British politics. “True blue” wards in Kent turned to Reform just as Labour heartlands went from red to turquoise as formerly safe seats fell one after another to Reform.
Durham County Council’s Deputy Leader Darren Grimes says there’s a new sheriff in town (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
Mr Farage had threatened to park Reform’s tanks on Labour’s lawns ahead of the May 1 poll. Reform’s subsequent full-frontal attack smashed Labour and the Tories in County Durham, an erstwhile Labour stronghold home to Sir Tony Blair’s former Sedgefield constituency.
Reform won 65 council seats out of a total 98. The Conservatives ended up with just one councillor while Labour was summarily dismissed from a staggering 38 wards to be left with just four.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer‘s huge loss came despite the county being home to the annual Miner’s Gala, which some in Labour still think represents the party’s traditional, working class values. From no overall control, the unitary authority is now securely in the hands of Reform UK.
Former GB News presenter, Darren Grimes, was among the victors, winning Annfield Plain and Tanfield before going on to become Deputy Leader of Reform-led Durham County Council.
He and his colleagues now find themselves controlling the levers of power in a county where locals are crying out for change to improve their lives and local services.
Mr Grimes told the Express he and his fellow Reform councillors are well aware of the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, against the backdrop of tribal political loyalties coming to an end.
He said: “The pressure is on. We’re working long, hard hours to ensure we can move fast in getting some early wins for the people of County Durham. Politics has changed. Voters are saying, ‘We’re not going to be fooled or bought off anymore’.”
Darren Grimes says Reform UK appeals to voters on the left and right (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
Born and bred in Stanley, Mr Grimes, 31, said he would never have imagined the day when the county wasn’t “redder” than former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He claimed “toxic” Labour now stands for religious sectarianism, mass migration, activist student politics and Net Zero.
The firebrand local councillor added: “Those things are a complete anathema to people up here.” He said Sir Keir’s seemingly tougher stance on immigration since the local election might make him appear “more Faragiste than Farage”, but such a ploy wouldn’t win people back.
Mr Grimes said while Labour secured its General Election victory on a promise of positive change, millions of pensioners have now lost their Winter Fuel Allowance and businesses have been hit by an increase to their National Insurance bills.
He added: “The change people have got is starting to look like a dystopian nightmare.”
Echoing the language of Sir Keir’s party, Mr Grimes said Reform UK is on the side of working people, which includes a willingness to work with unions.
That offer comes after Labour politicians in Lancashire warned council workers to join a union following Mr Farage’s threat that Reform would end flexible working practices and anyone involved in diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) should look for another job.
Rebecca Ashby says voters in County Durham wanted to deliver a kicking to the UK Government (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
Asked what Reform will achieve in power, Mr Grimes said his first priority is to make sure council taxpayers get the “best bang for every buck” the local authority spends.
Reform is looking to make cuts, with Net Zero “pet projects” on the chopping block and a multi-million pound potential investment in a hotel scheme in Durham’s Milburngate under review.
On what he wants to achieve in the next four years, Mr Grimes said: “I would like to say we haven’t been increasing the rate of council tax going up, that we have found efficiencies, made savings for those paying those ever-increasing sums and getting less out of them, and to be able to say that we represented people’s views and concerns.
“Far too often, people elected to council chambers like this don’t speak the lingo of people out there in the real world.”
The council tax pledge comes despite Reform UK councillors having voted in favour of a 4.99% rise in February, amid warnings the local authority faces a £51.8million budget shortfall over the next four years.
Mr Grimes said such a thing wouldn’t happen under the new administration, adding: “There’s a new sheriff in town. We have a majority on the council. We have a new leader…The last thing I ever want to happen is for people to be asked to pay more.”
Shopowner Steve Smith welcomes Reform UK’s success in County Durham (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
Another key issue Reform UK has vowed to tackle is the housing of asylum seekers in areas where its new councils are in control.
Some have suggested failure to get control of immigration numbers nationally led voters to punish both the Tories and Labour at the polls on May 1.
Conservative councillor Richard Bell, former finance chief at Durham County Council, blamed the local election drubbing on public anger at past and present failures by national government to control legal and illegal migration.
He added: “There’s a lot of anger about that, about messing up Brexit, Boris Johnson pledging to take back control of our borders – people are very angry about that.”
Reform UK’s chairman, Zia Yusuf, has said its 10 councils would use “every instrument” available to them to tackle the migration issue locally, including judicial reviews, injunctions and planning laws.
Durham’s new deputy leader said Reform would do everything in its newly-won power to resist landlords in the county housing migrants in Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs).
Mr Grimes said: “We can’t wave a magic wand to say we can stop mass migration. But HMOs being used to house migrants, we will resist that at every twist and turn.
“What we can say, is that if you are told that, as a single parent with two kids, that seven fighting-age men are going to move in next door to you in a HMO, we will resist that at every twist and turn.
“I’m willing to chain myself to a HMO if it stops one being established… People do not want them. Frankly, I don’t think it’s fair on voters who pay their council tax only to find they’re getting forced to endure this and being deeply concerned by the welfare of their children.”
Norman Bayles from Horden says Labour will have to pull out all the stops to come back in the county (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
He agreed with Dame Andrea Jenkins, Reform UK’s mayor of Lincolnshire, who called for migrants to be housed in tents instead of hotels during her victory speech.
Mr Grimes went a step further and called for detention centres to be set up for illegal migrants. Asked if he would be happy for such a place in County Durham, he said: “We have to look at every possible avenue open to us. But there are limited powers available.”
He acknowledged that for one council to take the Government to court to oppose migrants being housed in a Reform controlled council area would be expensive.
But 10 councils working together could present a legal challenge, he suggested. Mr Grimes added: “We will kick and scream with the press attention of a toddler to try and get this issue front and centre on the pages of august institutions like the Express, no less.”
Cllr Bell said Reform UK’s biggest challenge in the county would be managing pressures on the local authority’s finances and fulfilling its statutory obligations against a backdrop of increasing numbers of children in care.
Durham is running a budget deficit this financial year, and was forced to dip into its reserves to the tune of £15m to balance the books. There may be some hope more help will come from the UK Government.
“We hope Durham will get a bigger slice of the cake, but there’s no magic money tree in Whitehall any more than there is in the county,” Cllr Bell said.
Reform UK won 65 council seats out of a total 98 in the county (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Express)
He noted that on the climate agenda he never signed off on green schemes which didn’t have a financial justification.
“The rhetoric that the council is broken is overblown. We don’t have lots of people working on climate change. We don’t employ DEI officers. We do DEI impact assessments because that’s the law. There’s little Reform can change locally.”
Mary Kelly Foy, the city of Durham’s Labour MP, said Reform UK now has no hiding places left to claim as stumbling blocks in its pursuit of making Durham County Council “great again”.
She added: “I hope after promising precious little to our communities throughout the campaign, the Reform administration can settle on a set of political priorities that will make an actual difference to people’s lives.
“Or, as the party itself has acknowledged, the reality of not delivering will bring them back down to earth very rapidly.”
Labour activist, Rebecca Ashby, 59, suggested Reform UK had taken advantage of disaffection among voters in the county who wanted to deliver a kicking to the UK Government.
She added: “Durham County Council was in difficulty before the election and needed very clever people to sort out the budget. Now we have a lot of people in charge of the council that haven’t done any of this in their lives.
“Sadly, the people that really need local representatives to help them through difficulties in their lives now have people without the experience and contacts to do all that.”
Ms Ashby pointed to an early setback for Reform UK which saw one of its councillors resign after failing to declare he worked for the council. Andrew Kilburn’s exit means a by-election will be held for the Benfieldside ward at a cost to taxpayers of some £30,000.
Mr Grimes said the error was “deeply regrettable”, adding: “I am sorry that happened.” He suggested it could be forgiven for a party which is relatively new to governing. That same party now finds itself balancing demands from voters who would previously have voted Labour or Conservative.
Asked how Reform UK can satisfy people at both ends of the political spectrum, Mr Grimes said: “There’s a common consensus that people are paying too much in taxation. That people aren’t getting the best for their money. That public services are broken. That mass migration is far too high. That Net Zero and energy bills are having a detrimental impact on industry and people. There’s a consensus there.”
Anger at the tax burden was expressed loudly and clearly in County Durham’s towns and villages. Steve Smith, 63, owns a shop in Stanley visited by Mr Farage ahead of the May 1 poll.
He said: “Labour are doing what the Conservatives used to do – taxes. Labour used to look after the working man. But a lot of people round here don’t vote at all. They think it’s not going to make a difference.”
Retiree, Norman Bayles, 67, from Horden, doubted whether Labour would be able to make a comeback in the county. He said: “It’s not getting any easier. As the years go by it gets harder and harder, with bills, gas and electric. They just seem to want to take more money off you and not give back. We don’t exist up here.”
Mr Bayles added: “Labour would have been a shoe in up here, but they would have to pull out all the stops to make a comeback here. They’ve totally hit people on the head.”
Former factory worker, Anne Freeman, 77, from Peterlee, said she wasn’t surprised by Reform UK’s success in the county. She added: “Labour has let us down badly.”
Asked if she thought Reform UK would change County Durham’s fortunes, she said: “I don’t know. It all depends on whether they’ve been telling lies or not. Let’s see if they follow through with what they’ve promised.”
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