Nigel Farage promises Trump-style cuts, end to WFH and cut climate change and diversity staff in Reform-run councils - after seismic electoral revolution
Nigel Farage has vowed to make Trump-style cuts across local government, as well as slashing jobs work from home jobs and positions in climate change and diversity.
The Reform UK leader has pledged to imitate Elon Musk 's drive in the US to cut federal spending after being appointed the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Trump.
Now, Farage, 61, whose party caused a political earthquake as they nabbed hundreds of local seats across the nation yesterday, and gained control of ten councils, has issued a stark warning for certain council roles in Durham.
The controversial political figure told workers, where Labour was previously the biggest party, to seek 'alternative careers very, very quickly,' if they were in roles relating to climate change, diversity or if they worked from home.
But experts have said there is very little left of council budgets to cut, with much of what is currently spent going towards services that must be supplied by law.
It comes as the 'Reform-quake' saw the Tories lose every council - 676 seats in total - as it found itself squeezed between Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats, while Labour saw 186 seats slip away.
The jubilant Reform party now runs a swath of big authorities for the first time - securing majorities on Kent, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lancashire county councils after a Conservative collapse.
In the Runcorn & Helby by-election, the party gained a new MP, Sarah Pochin, while elsewhere in Greater Lincolnshire they scored their very first metro mayor, former Conservative MP, Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
Nigel Farage was joined on stage by Dame Andrea Jenkyns winner of Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty (L), and Sarah Pochin winner of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election (R)
Farage has pledged to imitate Elon Musk's drive in the US to cut federal spending after being appointed the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Trump
In an ominous warning, Farage recalled that people had mocked him for saying he would be the next PM, adding: 'They're not laughing now, are they?'
When queried about his party's priorities, Farage told Today on BBC Radio 4: 'We are deeply dissatisfied with the way that county councils and unitaries in Britain have been running their budgets.
'We look at the millions a year being spent, in many cases, on consultants. We look at the money being spent on climate change; on areas that county councils, frankly, shouldn't even be getting involved in.'
He promised to bring in auditors to assess long-term contracts as well as to introduce a 'change of culture'by putting an end to working from home, adding: 'That won't be a magic wand, it won't solve every problem, but it will be a good start.'
When asked if he would be able to show how much money had been saved in the next six months, he answered yes while also pressing the need for a DOGE-style department in every country.
'Local government has gone under the radar for way too long,' he said: 'And if you're a council tax payer and your bill's going up 5 per cent every year, I think you deserve something better.'
And while the Reform leader warned council cuts could result in 'life or death choices', chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit think tank, Jonathon Carr West, argued funding had already been significantly slashed.
He said the party had removed only around a third of their spending power with their proposals, adding most big council's funding largely goes on adult social care and children's service, which are statutory duties.
'They are literally life-or-death issues. Sending someone to Mr Smith's house to make sure he takes his medication … it's not an optional extra, that's what keeps him alive,' he told The Times.
'Safeguarding vulnerable children — these are all things that, as a society, we want to happen. Local authorities have a legal duty to make that happen.'
Mr Carr-West revealed the majority of local authorities would have a debt of £100 million or more as well as huge funding gaps for essential services.
And while he confessed it was 'compelling' to suggest some areas could be fixed if money was not 'wasted' in other places, it wasn't 'realistic' to say the hundreds of millions needed could be found through efficiency savings.
It comes after Farage and his party made several Freedom of Information requests, where they discovered councils were spending money on several things like free driving lessons for asylum seekers and trips to the South of France for civil servants.
According to The Times, one council was dishing out a £1,000-a-day on a pothole consultant, as well as spending on diversity officers and net-zero schemes.
However Mr Carr-West argued 'not a lot of money' was used in these areas, adding that there were 'merits' to these programmes, as well as pointing issues relating to diversity was about complying with the legislation under the Equality Act.
A projected national vote share from the local election results put Reform on 30 per cent, ahead of Labour on 20 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 17 per cent, and Tories on 15 per cent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Starmer accused of U-turn after ordering inquiry into grooming gangs
Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a 'welcome U-turn', while Kemi Badenoch called on him to apologise for 'six wasted months'. 'Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make the correct decision here,' she said. 'I've been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It's about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologised for six wasted months.' Speaking to reporters travelling with him on his visit to Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'I have never said we should not look again at any issue. I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit. 'Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. Baroness Louise Casey has compiled a report on child sexual exploitation (James Manning/PA) 'She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen. 'I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.' The Times newspaper reported that the findings of Baroness Casey's review will be set out in Parliament on Monday. The inquiry will be able to compel witnesses to give evidence, and it is understood that it will be national in scope, co-ordinating a series of targeted local investigations. Prof Jay's 2022 report concluded there had been institutional failings across the country and tens of thousands of victims in England and Wales. A national row over grooming gangs was ignited in January after tech billionaire Elon Musk used his X social media platform to launch a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. It followed the Government's decision to decline a request from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town. The Government later commissioned a 'rapid' audit by Lady Casey into the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse, which had been due to take three months but was delayed.
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Canada is independent and sovereign, says Starmer ahead of visit
In an apparent challenge to the US President, the Prime Minister said the country was a 'much-valued member of the Commonwealth'. Sir Keir indicated the UK and Canada will seek to restart trade talks on his way to meet Mark Carney, the country's premier and former Bank of England governor, in the Canadian capital on Saturday. The visit will be the first by a British premier to the country in eight years and comes ahead of leaders from the world's major economies meeting for the G7 summit in Kananaskis next week. The Prime Minister will be walking a diplomatic tightrope between strengthening bilateral relations with Canada and keeping Mr Trump, with whom he is finalising details of a transatlantic trade deal, on side. The US President has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the '51st state.' Asked whether he had called out Mr Trump's remarks about Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'Canada and the US are our allies. Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right, too. 'And that's the basis on which I've approached my discussions with all of our partners. I'm not going to get into the precise conversations I've had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth. 'And we work closely with Canada on any number of issues, whether that is defence and security – particularly the training in Ukraine, it's been something where Canada and the UK have worked very closely together.' He added: 'And one of the things I want to do is to open the door to taking out further, reducing out trade barriers with Canada. So, I'm really clear where we stand on that.' The UK and Canada have a trade relationship worth about £28 billion to the British economy and are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But the two leaders have starkly different approaches to the US president. Mr Carney previously criticised the UK Government's invitation for Mr Trump to make a second state visit, telling Sky News earlier this year that Canadians were 'not impressed' by the gesture. Downing Street said Sir Keir would use his visit to Canada to argue that 'in a shifting global economy, the UK must retain its proud status as a free and open trading nation – strengthening our existing alliances while reducing barriers to trade with other countries around the world'. He is also expected to meet Mr Trump at the summit next week.
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
Starmer accused of U-turn after ordering inquiry into grooming gangs
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of a U-turn after committing to a statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. After resisting pressure for months to implement a full probe, the Prime Minister said he had read 'every single word' of an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for the investigation. Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a 'welcome U-turn', while Kemi Badenoch called on him to apologise for 'six wasted months'. 'Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make the correct decision here,' she said. 'I've been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It's about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologised for six wasted months.' Speaking to reporters travelling with him on his visit to Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'I have never said we should not look again at any issue. I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit. 'Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. 'She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen. 'I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.' The Times newspaper reported that the findings of Baroness Casey's review will be set out in Parliament on Monday. The inquiry will be able to compel witnesses to give evidence, and it is understood that it will be national in scope, co-ordinating a series of targeted local investigations. Prof Jay's 2022 report concluded there had been institutional failings across the country and tens of thousands of victims in England and Wales. A national row over grooming gangs was ignited in January after tech billionaire Elon Musk used his X social media platform to launch a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. It followed the Government's decision to decline a request from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town. The Government later commissioned a 'rapid' audit by Lady Casey into the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse, which had been due to take three months but was delayed.
