A crisis-hit Reform UK council is facing a rise in council tax and crippling cuts to services due to an £83m black hole in its finances, The i Paper can reveal.

Durham County Council is set to reduce grass cutting and road gritting, increase fees for weddings and parking and slash the library budget in a desperate bid to balance the books.

Significant job cuts to several departments, with some services to be replaced by AI, is also expected.

Even then, the Reform administration, led by Councillor Andrew Husband and GB News star Darren Grimes, has been told it must raise council tax by at least the 5 per cent permitted without a referendum to avoid effective bankruptcy.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Grimes, who holds responsibility for council finances, insisted “no decisions have been taken” on savings proposals but admitted: “We need to exercise a strong and responsible grip on public finances.”

In a response to The i Paper he added: “The pressure itself is no mystery: statutory duties keep growing, the funding to meet them does not.

“That is a Labour in Whitehall choice landing on County Durham and our low tax base and more deprived communities.”

Reform in meltdown as three more councillors quit

The bleak warning from Durham council officers came as a further three councillors left the Reform group this week.

It brings the total to have either stepped down, or been asked to leave, to 16 to since the party took control of the authority last May.

Reform is now in danger of losing its majority control of Durham despite winning 65 of 98 seats only 18 months ago.

And while the political leadership is in turmoil, with rumours Husband may soon face a vote of no confidence, the state of Durham’s finances has also worsened.

Like all councils, Durham has been struggling with the increasing cost of adult social care, children’s services and inflation for several years.

When the former Lib Dem administration was setting its last budget for 2025 the council was projecting a £53m deficit over the next four-year cycle.

Crucially, this included an expectation that Durham would increase council tax by 5 per cent each year.

During its election campaign, Reform said that it would be looking to reduce council tax. After the government agreed to some extra funding, Reform eventually agreed to an increase of 1.99 per cent last year.

The reduced amount of council tax revenue generated has contributed to Durham’s four-year deficit increasing since Reform came to power by £30m.

‘Doge is a philosophy here in Durham’

The programme of savings outlined this week affects services across the board.

Jobs will have to be cut in education and Special Educational Needs (SEN), the council will lose eight of its gritters, the cost of Park and Ride services will increase, funding to the annual food festival will be cut and a theatre café will be shut.

The council will also look at reducing gulley cleaning, closing tips and reducing grass cutting – a topic which has already caused Reform a headache.

The administration took a decision to reduce services last year but faced a backlash when residents in a number of areas noticed overgrown grass and weeds.

“It was the number one topic in my inbox,” said Councillor Nick Brown, who stepped down from Reform earlier this year.

Such painful cutbacks have become par for the course at councils across the country but Reform came to power on promising a fresh approach.

The party said a Doge-style unit would identify “waste” in local government and save money.

No such audit has ever taken place in Durham and emails shared with The i Paper show that when questioned, Husband responded that “Doge is a philosophy here in Durham.”

‘Chickens are coming home to roost’ for Reform, critics claim

Grimes, meanwhile, said Durham’s financial position is down to factors that are “wholly outside of our control” and called for more funding from central government.

However, Brown said he believes Reform has refused to confront difficult decisions which can now no longer be avoided.

“We were told last year that if we didn’t go with 5 per cent [council tax] increase the deficit would get bigger,” he said.

“They chose not to do that, now the chickens are coming home to roost. The economic situation has got worse, the cost of borrowing has gone up.

“To my mind, the people who voted Reform have been betrayed.”

After being contacted for comment, Cllr Grimes claimed that the ‘gap’ in Durham for 2027-28 will only be £800,000 once savings are delivered.

“Last year we faced a £20m gap and delivered £21.6m in savings, more than we needed but we were elected to fight for taxpayers,” he added.

“Look at what that bought. In adult social care there are no care home waiting lists and no waiting lists for assessment. People are seen when they need to be seen. Adult services came in £1.2m underspent and account for 31 per cent of our total budget, a lower share than many authorities carrying far worse numbers than ours. Better outcomes, less money. That is the whole job.

“We delivered a zero per cent council tax increase last year with a 1.99 per cent social care precept. We renegotiated the TVERF waste contract and saved taxpayers tens of millions. We undeclared the climate emergency, cut the green vanity spending that came with it, and declared a care emergency instead, because that is where the need actually is.

“Eight in 10 councils say they are near insolvency. Hampshire is staring down the largest budget gap in England. Durham is nowhere near that, and the reason is the decisions taken in the last 18 months.

“No decisions have been taken on savings or council tax. Cabinet papers set out options in public so residents can see them and respond. The pressure itself is no mystery: statutory duties keep growing, the funding to meet them does not. That is a Labour in Whitehall choice landing on County Durham and our low tax base and more deprived communities.”