West Northants Council leader says Reform will not take diversity or climate training

The new Reform UK leader of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has confirmed that his group will not take part in diversity or climate training for their new roles as elected officials.

Cllr Mark Arnull, who was elected to represent Kingsthorpe North and appointed as the new council leader on Thursday (May 15), told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he stands with Reform’s national policy and that none of his councillors will attend the training.

The party recently won a majority on WNC, making up 42 out of the 76 elected members in the chamber.

The move comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted on social media that all of the group’s newly elected councillors would boycott DEI and climate change training because they believe “all people should be treated equally”.

According to the council’s current Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, WNC says it is “committed to advancing equality of opportunity, fostering good relations, and eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation”.

It says the responsibility of ensuring there is no unlawful discrimination rests with staff and that all members must comply with the policy and framework.

Speaking to the LDRS, Cllr Arnull said: “The councillors in West Northamptonshire Council are waiting for their briefs from the democratic services team, but as it stands, I will stand with the policy and the councillors on the Reform group will not be attending the training.”

He also confirmed that his administration would be following a number of other national policies announced in recent weeks, including flying only the St George’s Cross, the Union Flag and the council emblem on the local authority buildings and looking into a proposed clampdown on remote working for WNC staff.

Policies and commitments

Asked about what Reform UK’s key local policies would be going forward, he responded: “I think it’s really important that we listen to what the local people said to us on the doorstep. We spoke clearly about potholes, graffiti and litter, very many things, including white elephants, or perceived white elephants and lack of value for money for the electorate.

“We’ve just formed a government, in the last couple of days I’ve put the administration together, and my cabinet’s been announced. We’re going to address the issues that we said by meeting with the officers and executives at the earliest opportunity and we’ll look at what we can do.

“In the early stages we’ve got to find out where we are, what we’ve inherited and how we can move forward.”

One of Reform UK’s key commitments throughout the campaign period was auditing council contracts and spending, and getting rid of waste. Local candidates emphasised this, as did Farage’s commitment to a ‘DOGE-style operation’ for Northamptonshire during his visit to Kettering in April.

When pressed on how and where the new administration would look to find those savings, Cllr Arnull said: “We’ve made no secrets in our campaign that there’s a large number of executives on six-figure salaries. We don’t oppose paying high value salaries if we’re getting value for money, but we need to go into that with a fine tooth comb and make sure the electorate do know that they’re getting value for money from the people who are employed here.”

Other areas he mentioned included reviewing the use of equipment such as the pothole machine, and making sure that it is working efficiently and in line with the contracts.

After the first annual meeting on Thursday, usual council meetings on a range of issues from licensing, planning, children’s services and finance will start again from Monday (May 19).

Cllr Arnull and his new cabinet are expected to attend their first public meeting as a senior decision-making panel at One Angel Square in June.