EPANewly-elected Reform UK councillors have been celebrating after they swept to power and took control of Staffordshire County Council.
Party leader Nigel Farage spoke to members at the County Showground after results came in and he listed some of the decisions they could make.
He told them they could say no to a proposed wind farm for Staffordshire Moorlands and a solar farm in Cheadle – and also cut funding spent on asylum seekers.
“I wish you all the luck in the world,” he said. “It won’t be easy, it will be a learning curve, but it is an incredible opportunity.”
The final tally for Staffordshire shows Reform now has 49 out of 62 seats after winning 41% of the overall vote.
Going into the election, Reform had no councillors in the county and the Conservatives held 53 of the 62 seats.
Farage branded the authority under the previous Conservative administration as “very woke”.
He said: “Maybe a bit of a warning if you do work for Staffordshire County Council and you are involved in climate change policy, or involved with DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), or anything like that, imay be time to go and look for a different job.”
He added: “Here in Staffordshire we are now in charge.
“County councils are there to perform basic functions for taxpayers. We want to slim down the size of local government and re-prioritise it on what its job really is.
“You will judge us, quite rightly, on how we do.”
‘Take control’
Martin Murray, Reform UK’s Staffordshire county co-ordinator and new councillor for Cannock town, said the feeling was “one of excitement, exhilaration and anticipation to get started to do that work”.
He said: “I knew the day was coming up when we were going to take control of this council. I could feel it across the streets of the whole county.
“We have gone beyond expectations and we thank everybody for that vote of confidence and we will deliver back to it.”
