Reform UK-led Durham County Council to hold second by-election
A second by-election is to be held at a newly led Reform UK council, just a month after the party swept to power.Reform secured a landslide victory in May, winning 65 seats across County Durham to take control of the county council.Easington and Shotton councillor John Bailey has announced his resignation due to ill health.It comes after former Benfieldside member Andrew Kilburn was forced to resign for failing to declare he was employed by the local authority. A by-election will be held there on 3 July.
National legislation means council employees are disqualified from standing as councillors simultaneously.
Confirmation of Bailey's resignation was delivered on Monday, as his councillor profile page was removed from Durham County Council's website.Reform won all three of the available seats within the East Durham ward during May's ballot. Bailey came top with 1,849 votes ahead of party colleagues Howard Brown and Louise Taylor.A party spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of Mr Bailey's resignation as a result of a serious health issue."We are immensely grateful for him stepping forward to make a difference in his community."We wish John and his family the very best during this difficult time."Bailey previously represented the Liberal Democrats but resigned from the party in 2009 due to "irreconcilable differences" and later represented the former Crook North ward as an Independent.A by-election is expected to be held for the vacancy later this summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.
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The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Labour MPs push front bench for ‘crackdown' on ‘dodgy' vape and barber shops
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Mr Powell, the MP for Kensington and Bayswater, told the Commons: 'Small businesses across my constituency on our high streets from Earls Court Road to Queensway, Notting Hill Gate and Portobello Road are fed up of being blighted by candy shops, low-grade souvenir shops, Harry Potter shops and, yes, even barber shops, with accusations of VAT and business rates evasion, and even links to money laundering and serious organised crime.' He urged Mr Thomas to say 'what steps' the Government is taking 'to crack down on these operations and create a legitimate level playing field for our small businesses'. The minister replied: 'We've been working with colleagues in the Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to take action to crackdown on illegitimate businesses that threaten to undermine the legitimate ones that are on all of our high streets. 'In March, the NECC co-ordinated a three-week crackdown against barber shops and other cash-intensive businesses where there were concerns, visiting almost 400 premises, securing freezing orders over a series of bank accounts totalling more than £1 million.' In response, Ms Onn said: 'I really do need to press him because my constituents in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes are equally as fed up as (Mr Powell) of seeing high streets dominated by dodgy vape shops, unlicensed barbers.' She said 'some of them are legitimate' but asked: 'Is he working closely with the Home Office to try and tackle this blight because I think we probably need a national strategy, not a three-week operation?' Mr Thomas said he recognised 'a concern up and down the country' and added the NCA and Home Office 'are seeking to take action against illegitimate business'. He said a Government commitment to bolster police forces with 13,000 extra officers and special constables, backed by an uplift to forces' 'spending power' of 2.3% per year unveiled in Wednesday's spending review, 'will help'. In a viral video, Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed 'weird Turkish barber shops' were 'chipping away at society', along with fare evasion, when he caught passengers allegedly 'bumping' London Underground ticket barriers on camera. 'The state needs to reassert itself and go after lawbreakers,' he said. Conservative MP Graham Stuart said that if a book which Labour MP for Central Ayrshire Alan Gemmell is writing were a 'political thriller about fighting for small business', then he was 'sure it features five heroes on the front bench opposite, doing everything they can to promote small business'. Ministers laughed and pointed at Tory MPs when Mr Stuart added: 'Readers will ask 'who is the villain of the piece?'' The Beverley and Holderness MP suggested the villain would be Rachel Reeves, 'the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is doing everything possible to undermine business – 276,000 people having lost work since the autumn statement'. He asked: 'When will the ministers, the heroes of this story, fight against the Chancellor who's getting so much so wrong?' Mr Thomas said: 'It's a little while since I've been called a hero by (Mr Stuart) but I'm glad that I've finally had some recognition from him in that regard. 'I don't think the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a villain at all. 'Indeed, I think the spending review that she announced yesterday will help to unlock investment in our high streets and in our small businesses up and down the country – the record investment in research and development, the record investment in infrastructure, and the additional capacity to the British Business Bank will help to unlock billions of pounds of new investment and many more job opportunities across the country.' Labour former minister Liam Byrne later called for 'a plan to cut industrial energy costs now'. The Commons Business and Trade Committee chairman said: 'As our committee pointed out on Friday, the success of the industrial strategy will depend on a plan to cut industrial energy costs now. 'When the industrial strategy is published, will the Secretary of State reassure us that there will be a plan to ensure that UK energy prices are internationally competitive?' 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The Sun
11 minutes ago
- The Sun
Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate 20 years after Rachel Reeves spending review, economist warns
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Speaking after delivering her spending review yesterday, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review. What council tax support is available? By James Flanders, Chief Consumer Reporter There are several ways you can get discounts and reductions on your council tax bill. In some cases, you can even get the bill completely wiped with a council tax reduction. Factors such as your household income, whether you have children, and if you receive any benefits, will influence what you get. To apply, visit here. You'll need your National Insurance number, bank statements, a recent payslip or letter from the Jobcentre, and a passport or driving licence when filling out the details. Below, we reveal all the ways you can get discounts or a reduction on your bill: Single person discount If you live on your own, you can get 25% off your council tax bill. 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You can also contact them directly by phone, email, or live chat.
Spectator
11 minutes ago
- Spectator
Reform gains another councillor in blow for Scottish Tories
Dear oh dear. With just days to go until the Scottish Conservative conference, party leader Russell Findlay will have been hoping for a quiet news week. He has had no such luck however – at the eleventh hour, it transpires that yet another one of his Aberdeenshire councillors has defected to Reform UK. Lauren Knight has become the party's fifth representative on the council – and party officials insist that with the support of two independent councillors, they now have an official group. The tide is turning… Knight, who represents the ward of Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford, was previously a Tory party member. But her move to Reform comes as she feels her party 'has left her', with the Aberdeenshire councillor adding she 'feels let down by so many broken promises'. She went on: 'Scotland has been abandoned by the two party establishment, which continues to prioritise self interests and party politics over genuine change.' Ouch. And by choosing the timing she has done to jump ship, Knight has rubbed salt in Scottish Tory wounds ahead of the party's annual conference this weekend. She is the 10th councillor the party has lost to Reform since the end of last year, and her move comes as the party prepares to contest Scotland's mainstream political parties in next year's 2026 Holyrood election. Findlay has attacked the councillors who have turned their backs on him, blasting their decisions in the Press & Journal as 'opportunistic'. Reform UK's Thomas Kerr – formerly the Conservative group leader on Glasgow City Council – has hit back, remarking: 'Reform UK is delighted to be living rent-free in Russell Findlay's head.' The gloves are coming off… Today's development comes a week after the Hamilton by-election where, despite coming third, Reform UK took 26 per cent of the constituency vote – outperforming their place in the polls and coming just 500 votes behind the party of government, the SNP. Kerr insists the party is the 'fastest growing' in Scotland, telling the Spectator last month that the party has 10,500 members and claims to be close to overtaking Scottish Labour's numbers. Indeed the party even managed to recruit its first Labour defector last week, with Renfrewshire council's Jamie McGuire swapping in his red tie for teal. Will more defections come ahead of the finalisation of Reform UK's Holyrood selection list? Stay tuned…
