Nigel Farage has declared that Reform UK will "make history and win the next General Election" after his party took control of Durham County Council for the first time.The historic victory saw Reform secure the 49 seats needed for a majority, ending the coalition rule of the last four years.Farage proclaimed that "today marks the end of two-party politics" in the UK.He also claimed the results mark "the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party".WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE
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00:00You get Labour. But if you vote reform in the middles of the north, from now up until the general election, if you vote reform, you get...
00:11And those messages are big and strong and clear. And they're my big takeaways from what's happened here over the course of the last 24 hours.
00:24For many of you, you won't have been in council office before. But remember, stick to our principles.
00:31And I would advise anybody who's working for Durham County Council on climate change initiatives, or diversity, equity and inclusion, or things that can go on working from home,
00:43I think you all better really be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly.
00:54We want to give council taxpayers better value for money. We want to reduce excessive expenditure.
00:59We want to find out who the long-term contracts are signed with and why.
01:04And reduce the scale of local government back to what it ought to be. Providing social care. Providing needs for kids.
01:12Oh! And I nearly forgot, mending potholes.
01:17And I promise you, if you can mend the potholes, get the right technology, get the right contract, you will all be re-elected in four years' time.
01:26I've been on this political road for a very, very long time.
01:29But I do genuinely believe that what has happened yesterday, the length and breadth of England, is a truly historic landmark.
01:39And I have little doubt in my mind that the optimism of our voters, you've met them out there on the street.
01:45They really believe in us. They want change. And they know they're not going to get change.
01:49From Starmer, or indeed for whoever, the sixth or seventh or eighth leader of the Conservative Party in ten years is.
01:57We are the agents of change. We are the agents of optimism. We are the ones unafraid to stand up for our principles,
02:04our belief in our nation, our absolute desire to protect our borders.
02:09And the number of people I met in the north, just so enraged.
02:15Because they get up early in the morning, they go to work, they pay their taxes.
02:20And they see young men crossing the English Channel, being dumped into the north of England, getting everything for free.
02:27And then once they're given indefinitely to remain, put to the top of the social housing list.
02:33It is unfair. It is irresponsible. It is wrong in every way.
02:39And I don't believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it.
02:42But it's only what we, at national level, have got the guts to deal with it.
02:46And we will resist central government plonking scores hundreds of these young men in these counties that we now control.
02:56I will also, I will attempt to speak to the major, they were major political leaders.
03:14They're all in love with net zero.
03:17The Conservatives brought it into law. Labour are now pursuing it with sort of religious fervour that Ed Miliband applies to it.
03:26And you and I both know that the Labour Party promised to produce national bills by £300,
03:32when they've gone up £300, and that we now have the most expensive energy in the world
03:38because of lunatic, net zero policies that are de-industrialising Britain.
03:43Let's be clear, we want to produce our own gas, our own oil, make our own steel, make our own copper wire.
03:51We want to re-industrialise Britain, re-industrialise the north, and give men and women well-paid, skilled jobs
03:58and a sense of pride in their community and what they do.
04:01And we can't do that from Durham County Council, but we can set the markers for how we intend to govern.
04:09You have cleared a very important hurdle today.
04:13And next year we'll clear those hurdles in the Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections.
04:19And I believe, as I think you believe, we really will make history and win the next general election.