Nigel Farage NNC visit to Corby Cube

Northants Telegraph

Leader of Reform UK visits North Northants Council welcomed by council leader Martin Griffiths and deputy leader Eddie McDonald

Transcript

00:00I never thought this would happen.

00:11Our voters are really, I mean, they're up for it, aren't they?

00:35They're really up for it, they really believe in us.

00:38Because they know that, you know, basically, societally and economically, we're in big trouble.

00:43And these stretch things will turn things around.

00:46I would say this to you, remember why you were elected.

00:50Understand that not all of you will love each other.

00:54Don't report your people, there'll be disagreements, there'll be personalities and conflicts.

00:59All I would say to you is this.

01:01Disagreements and arguments should be had behind closed doors.

01:05We are all part of the same team.

01:08And it's when the critical part of the breakdown is a bit of fighting that the whole thing falls to pieces.

01:14I do think I am the right person to lead this movement.

01:17And, you know, so many people like you have responded to that.

01:22So, to be honest with you, I mean, I'm enormously proud of what we've done over the course of the last year.

01:28And it's actually incredible.

01:29You know, nothing like this has ever been seen before.

01:32I'm back in Northamptonshire.

01:33I was here during the campaign in the run-up to May the 1st.

01:37I've got to be honest, I didn't, in my wildest dreams, think we'd actually win control of the council.

01:43But here I am in Northamptonshire, and I'll be going to West Northamptonshire within the next few weeks.

01:48And just coming to meet the team, to see the cabinet that's been appointed, to form a bit of a view myself about the team and what it can do.

01:56Does it need any help from me, for example, from head office?

02:00And I've been very pleased this morning.

02:02I see a cabinet of people with a very broad experience of life.

02:07There's a combination of oldies and newbies.

02:10You know, we've got several here who've been county councillors, who've been district councillors, who've been unitary councillors before.

02:16Most are new.

02:18But then when I sit round my table and talk to the cabinet, you know, one of the guys there said,

02:22well, I've worked in logistics.

02:23Another guy was an investigating police officer and to fraud and cry.

02:27You know, there are another chap, you know, still holds some British records for swimming time.

02:32Around the room, what you see are people who've done stuff in their own lives, been successful.

02:37Can you use those skills politically? Absolutely you can.

02:40And I think one of the biggest criticisms of politics, both at a county and a national level,

02:46is there are too many people there who've never done anything else other than politics.

02:50So I would sort of turn that argument round the other way.

02:52I guess if you're a better man, what would you say that the odds are that the accounts will find enough efficiencies

02:59to justify maybe a decrease in council tax?

03:02Well, I'm not going to make that promise yet.

03:04I'm not going to make any false promises.

03:07Right at the minute, as you know, where we stand today,

03:09council tax has risen 5% for every one of the last five years

03:13and is now one of the biggest household bills that people face.

03:16Let's see what we can do.

03:18One thing we're going to try and do is reverse the work from home culture.

03:23You know, we believe people being together in offices, working as teams,

03:28leads to a much more positive working environment, hopefully a more fun working environment.

03:33It's better for young people. They can learn from older people.

03:36So one of the conversations we were having today was about staff morale,

03:40about trying to make this a happy place to work.

03:42And we will do everything we can to achieve that goal.

03:45I think you'd be very disappointed if I, as the leader or the incoming new chairman,

03:50didn't come and visit this council, didn't come and say to this council,

03:54look, if you've got problems, if you've got shortfalls, we're here to help you.

03:59That surely is how the relationship ought to be working.

04:01I haven't come to bully them. I haven't come to tell them off.

04:04I've come to cheer them on.

04:06I think that was a really good, positive meeting.

04:09And it was great inviting Nigel to come and meet our 40 councillors in North Northamptonshire.

04:16Yeah, I think it's important that our leadership understands that not all councils are the same.

04:22You know, we've got a very good council here, certainly since I've arrived,

04:27and I didn't know any of them before.

04:29They are so enthusiastic, so committed, and they want to work with us,

04:33because quite rightly and rightly believe that we'll bring change, positive change.

04:37And I think the most important thing about this place where we work is everybody's happy.

04:43It's very important.

04:45A happy workforce is a productive workforce, and they'll stay here.

04:49If we, you know, we produce good work here, people say it's an effective council,

04:55it's a good indicator for what reform could be like in government.

04:58I actually found that the group is very united in the common goal,

05:02and that is to create an exemplary council, but also to take our staff with us.

05:07We can't do this on our own.

05:08This is a partnership arrangement with our staff, and they have been absolutely fantastic.

05:14They want change just as much as we do.

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