Reform’s Rise in the North East

National World - LocalTV

Last week Reform UK won majority votes in County Durham’s local elections, and were a close second with Northumberland County Council, changing local politics across the region.

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00:00It's been described as nothing short of a political earthquake in the North East.

00:05As voters in County Durham and Northumberland sent a powerful message in last week's local elections.

00:11Change is not just coming, it's already arrived.

00:14In County Durham, Reform UK pulled off a stunning and historic victory,

00:19seizing control of the council with a dramatic gain of 65 seats.

00:23That result didn't just unseat Labour, it dismantled decades of political tradition.

00:28Labour, which held 52 seats just four years ago, has been reduced to just four.

00:33It was a collapse few saw coming, and for some, it's a moment of reckoning.

00:38Reform's rise was fast and fierce as the party's turquoise wave, as Nigel Farage calls it, swept across the region.

00:45As the results poured in, Farage stood among supporters in Newton Acliffe and declared,

00:50we had the Labour party for lunch and wiped out the Conservatives.

00:54Many of the newly elected councillors are entering public office for the very first time,

00:59propelled by a campaign that targeted frustration with rising costs, council inefficiency and disillusionment with national politics.

01:07Among them is Robert Potts, a former Conservative who defected to reform in 2024.

01:13Speaking after his win, he promised transparency, saying,

01:16we're going to open up the books and look at where every pound is going.

01:20If it can't be done better, cheaper, or it doesn't need to be done at all, it won't be done.

01:25The mood inside the councillors was electric and emotional.

01:29As reform's vote piles grew, candidates from Labour and the Conservatives looked on in disbelief.

01:34One Labour staffer was reportedly in tears.

01:37A losing councillor called the day a disaster.

01:40It wasn't just defeat, it was a rout.

01:42The Liberal Democrats held onto 14 seats and 12 independents were elected,

01:46including former council leader Amanda Hopgood.

01:49She vowed to keep a close eye on reform's actions, saying,

01:53they've made a lot of big promises, now they've got to show they can follow through.

01:57We'll be watching closely.

01:59Here's what locals in Durham think about the results in this recent local election.

02:04And with United Reform, they're just a protest party.

02:09They don't seem to have, er, they've got no real agenda.

02:15I mean, the one thing I heard recently, yesterday, was that apparently,

02:19where they control councils, they're actually going to take down the Ukrainian flag.

02:24Yeah, I voted for them.

02:26It was my first time voting though.

02:29I voted that, so I'm happy with it.

02:31But they all lie anyway.

02:34I feel like it's worrying because some of their policies

02:39seem to me to be inherently racist, to be honest.

02:43Erm, I think, I understand why they've won,

02:47because people were very unhappy with, er, the Conservatives.

02:53And Labour have come in, and I, we haven't seen a great deal of positive change.

02:58Yeah, 새로운 charmals.

03:08But don't resist this.

03:10It's hard to change.

03:11I wasn't sure.

03:12And we'd be ready for a little change.

03:15Sometimes you don't get mad at all.

03:17And then, получится is a big deal ofefforts

03:19that go towards city legislatures.

03:21And it's hard to change.

03:23If not, whatever they mean,

03:24we wouldn't play up,

03:25because there's aない way there than the West Ham not beingient.

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