Nigel Farage has said council staff working on diversity or climate change initiatives should be “seeking alternative careers” after Reform UK took control of Durham County Council.

Farage’s party swept control of the local authority, winning 65 of the 98 seats on the council.

The Lib Dems and Conservatives collapsed in the local poll, with the Lib Dems winning just 14 seats and the Tories one.

The Labour Party, which previously held 52 seats before its 2021 collapse, saw just four of its 98 councillor candidates elected this week.

In Aycliffe, Reform won four of five seats, with the Lib Dems taking the other.

Speaking at a rally in Aycliffe’s Big Club on Friday – above pic courtesy of Mark Pinder – had a chilling message for council employees, with the local authority employing around 18,000 people.

“I would advise anybody who’s working for Durham County Council on climate change initiatives or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or… things that you go on working from home, I think you all better really be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly,” Farage said.

“We want to give council taxpayers better value for money. We want to reduce excessive expenditure. We want to find out who the long-term contracts are signed with and why, and reduce the scale of local government back to what it ought to be.”

Mr Farage told Reform UK councillors and activists that they have “cleared a very important hurdle” and the local election results mark “the end of two-party politics” and “we are the agents of change”.

Four new councillors as Reform UK sweeps into Aycliffe power