Reform UK's new constituents warn party MUST deliver as Nigel Farage faces battle with council staff on Net Zero, DEI and WFH
Reform UK's new constituents have warned the insurgent party they must deliver following their sweeping local elections victory.
Nigel Farage 's outfit gained more than 650 council seats and took control of 10 local authorities in last week's contests, to send a lightning bolt through Westminster.
They also won mayoral ballots in Greater Lincolnshire and in Hull and East Yorkshire, while also winning the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary by-election.
Among those councils seized by Reform was Durham County Council, where the party won two-thirds of seats.
The council was previously run as a coalition between the Tories, Liberal Democrats and independent councillors.
Mr Farage visited the area during the election campaign and attended a celebration event in Newton Aycliffe after his party's stunning success.
He used a speech to send a warning to council staff working on climate change or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives - or anyone who wants to continue working from home - should 'seek alternative careers very quickly'.
But voters in Durham told MailOnline they wanted to see any money saved from such schemes ploughed back into local services.
They also revealed why they had turned on Labour amid high levels of immigration and winter fuel payments being axed for millions of pensioners.
Diane Guy, 63, a dressmaker from Ushaw Moor, County Durham, said: 'I voted for Reform as I can't stand Keir Starmer and I didn't want to vote Labour.
'We have to try something new. The North East has always been Labour but people feel as though they have shot themselves in the foot so are looking elsewhere.
'Now is Reform's chance to prove themselves and if they prove themselves, they may do well at the next general election.
'I like Nigel Farage, he doesn't waffle like other politicians. I can understand why he wants to stop migrants.
'I don't have a problem with genuine migrants and asylum seekers coming here but we need to stop those who have come here on boats. We will see what happens, watch this space.'
Donna Snailham, 42, who is unemployed, from Durham, said: 'I would have voted for Reform but I missed the vote. They are our last hope. It is shocking what Labour have done.
'This isn't our county anymore. We came out of the EU to stop people coming here but it is getting worse. This country is knackered. Great Britain isn't great anymore.
'Some of the biggest problems in Durham is that everything is catered to students from accommodation to entertainment. I hope Reform will change that.
'I agree with scrapping DEI and putting it back into local services. Mental health services were scrapped and local services declined.
'I was part of a local support programme and that stopped suddenly. We need more things in Durham for young people.'
Rosemary Newby, 79, a retired council worker from Ushaw Moor, County Durham, said: 'I'm disappointed with the whole of the council.
'Labour have taken our money away from us, they have scrapped the winter fuel allowance. People are living in hardship.
'It's a good idea to cut diversity, equality and inclusion staff and to put it back into services. We need more investment in our services.
'Years ago, you used to have someone cleaning the streets but that doesn't happen anymore. We have potholes that have been left, nothing has been done about them.'
Ms Newby said people are now looking for alternatives as they were 'fed-up of the last council'.
'Everyone always voted for Labour, but it's gone a different way. They are fed up of Labour. It will take them a long time to get back to where they were.
'We were devastated when they took the winter fuel allowance off us. That was really helpful, and a lot of people wonder why that was taken.'
Sadie Harnett, 30, a carer from Spennymoor, County Durham, said: 'When Reform won their seats, they were asking the council leader what to do.
'They had no idea what they were doing. I expected them to get that many seats. I'm not surprised they did so well.
'It's due to immigration. People can't see past the immigration issue in the UK. When I speak to people who vote for Reform all they speak about is immigration.
'We live in Spennymoor and it's 99 per cent white. In the last few years, we have had some asylum seekers move in.'
Ms Harnett said she 'didn't have any nice words for Farage', adding: 'He wants to make changes to climate change and DEI but what is the point?
'What does anything matter if you don't help the environment. I find it scary, I'm ready to move.'
Her mother, Frances Hartnett, 57, who is unemployed, said: 'Are they going to know what to do?
'I understand why people have voted that way. It's down to immigration. People are getting sick of being called racist.
'Starmer hasn't ingratiated himself to the public. He's annoyed a lot of people. I would say it's a protest vote for Reform but it's not.
'The older generation will say it's because of their pension tax. If he stops migrants coming into the council area then we will lose all the carers and the nurses.'
Pete Stewart, 78, a retired local government officer, of Stanhope, County Durham, said: 'I will vote for Reform next time as I am peed off with Labour and Conservatives.
'People are fed up with the two-party system, someone has to break out of that. Conservative and Labour are so close together that it's a wasted vote.
'We have ex-servicemen sleeping in doorways but there are immigrants being housed in hotels. That, to me, is vile.
'Anyone who is here illegally should be sent back. Reform's policy makes sense.'
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