(Image: DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL)
Reform UK’s majority on Durham County Council has been cut to just two after another councillor resigned, in the latest blow to the party’s ruling administration.
The departure of Aaron Hillam comes just weeks after Lyndsey Fox, Nicole Brown and Paul Sexton quit Reform to sit as independents, a triple resignation which had already reduced the party’s majority to three.
The three left amid wider allegations about the culture within the ruling group - something its leadership has strongly rejected.
Cllr Hillam, who represented South Moor and Craghead, has resigned from Durham County Council after moving away from County Durham and has been removed from the authority’s website.
Reform said the move meant he was “no longer able to represent his residents to the level he would have liked”.
A Reform UK Durham spokesman said: “Aaron notified us that he has moved away from County Durham and is no longer able to represent his residents to the level he would have liked. Understandably, he has chosen to resign from the council.
“We would like to thank Aaron for his contribution to date and look forward to campaigning for a new, strong Reform representative for South Moor and Craghead.”
Ex-Reform UK councillor Aaron Hillam (Image: DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL)
His resignation comes after a string of councillors quit since the party swept to power in last year’s local elections.
A spokesperson for Durham County Council confirmed that Cllr Hillam had resigned from his position and had not been dismissed.
His departure is the latest in a series of losses for Reform since the party swept to power at County Hall in May 2025, winning 65 of the authority’s 98 seats and ending decades of Labour dominance.
Delves Lane councillor Kenny Hope and Seaham councillor Andrew Harrison became independents in May, while Lower Teesdale councillor Jasmine Fox left Reform to sit as an independent in June.
Sedgefield councillor Ian Catchpole quit the Reform whip in August.
Cllr Fox said at the time that she had become “increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of the group” and claimed she had raised a “serious safeguarding concern” with the party leadership but received no meaningful follow-up.
She said the issue had been reported to the police and Police and Crime Commissioner, and stressed that her decision to leave was not connected to forthcoming budget discussions.
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Reform’s council leader Andrew Husband has repeatedly rejected wider allegations about the group’s leadership. Responding to previous accusations of bullying, he said he wanted to see “one shred of evidence” and insisted: “We are a tighter group without them. We are a well run council getting results.” [thenorther...echo.co.uk]
The departures have also attracted national attention. A Sky News investigation said 16 Reform councillors had left the party for various reasons since the 2025 local elections.
Reform described that investigation as “misleading and malicious” and said its record at Durham County Council “has been one of success”.