Overview
- Three councillors — Lyndsey Fox, Nicole Brown and Paul Sexton — have left Reform UK to sit as independents, reducing the party's working majority on Durham County Council to three.
- Cllr Lyndsey Fox says she raised a 'serious safeguarding' concern in July with party leaders and reported it to the police and the Police and Crime Commissioner, and that she received no meaningful follow-up.
- Since winning control in May 2025, at least 16 councillors elected for Reform UK no longer sit for the party on the council because of resignations, suspensions or changes of affiliation.
- Council leader Andrew Husband has rejected accusations about the group's culture and said the departing councillors have 'let their residents down,' while the administration continues to run the council.
- The local disruption comes as the party faces separate national problems, including the resignation of its Welsh leader after an arrest was reported and ongoing inquiries into party donations and a £5m gift to Nigel Farage.