Reform council leader quits after staff comments leaked

The Reform UK leader of Leicestershire County Council has announced he is standing down after comments he made about staff redundancies were leaked online.

Dan Harrison announced on Monday that he would be stepping down from the role he has held since May 2025.

He said he had made the decision after taking advice from senior Reform colleagues, and added deputy council leader Kevin Crook had taken over as acting leader.

It comes after Harrison had apologised after being recorded saying 76 council solicitors would be made redundant, branding them "incompetent", before saying "what I want to look at now is the women", in remarks which were then released on social media.

In a statement, Harrison said it had been the "honour of his life" to lead the county council's first Reform administration.

Harrison has said he will remain as a councillor, representing the Ashby-de-la-Zouch division.

The Conservative opposition at County Hall had called for Harrison to resign after his comments about staff were leaked.

In the recording, Harrison said: "There's 76 solicitors will be made redundant.

"We'll buy in the service, because [they are] incompetent. They're not doing a good job.

"What I want to look at now is the women so it is ongoing, I would like it to be at great pace but I can tell you now if we suddenly drove massive redundancies the liberals would walk away."

Earlier on Monday, Harrison had told the BBC he would not be stepping down - but he later said he made his decision after talking to Crook and group whip Andrew Hamilton-Gray.

He had apologised over the remarks, which were made on Tuesday during a Reform party meeting.

Despite his apology, Harrison had insisted his remarks had been taken out of context.

Harrison said: "I would like to apologise unreservedly to the staff and officers of the county council for any hurt, distress or offence caused by the publication of these comments, which were made during a heated meeting with the expectation of privacy and confidentiality.

"However, I would like to stress that these discussions were just that, and I have not given any instruction or direction to officers in these matters and that there has not been any discussion nor agreement on these issues with officers."

He added: "I unequivocally reject any suggestion that staffing decisions are being taken based on gender.

"The comments made in that meeting were taken completely out of context."

Before Harrison's resignation, the council's 15 Tory councillors had called for an emergency vote to try to remove him from the leader's role.

Group leader of the Conservative group, Deborah Taylor, said: "That was not a decision we took lightly.

"The serious concerns raised over recent days, particularly around the treatment of council employees and the comments contained in leaked recordings, left us feeling that his position had become untenable.

"His resignation brings an end to his leadership, but it does not mean those concerns should simply be forgotten.

"There are still questions that deserve answers, and it is important that the council learns from what has happened."

The Reform group remains the largest party on the authority, and runs it as a minority administration.

In a statement, Jeevun Sandher and Amanda Hack - Labour MPs for Loughborough and North West Leicestershire respectively - said: "Since taking office in 2025, the Reform UK administration has become increasingly embroiled in controversy and scandal, rather than focusing on delivering for the residents of Leicestershire.

"This is far from an isolated incident. Just last week, councillor [Joseph] Boam was found to have breached the council's own code of conduct through his actions against the former monitoring officer, while other Reform councillors have also been forced to apologise to residents over their behaviour. All of this in less than two years.

"Leicestershire residents deserve better."

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