Durham Council Leader Facing calls to Step Down after His Business Collapses Owing Huge Debts.

Andrew Husband Reform UK Leader of Durham County Council

The Reform UK party member who leads Durham County Council is facing calls to step down after his Ltd Company collapsed into insolvency leaving £1.5m pounds to be mopped up by the tax payer.

5th Jan 2026

The Reform UK leader of Durham County Council is facing calls to step down, after several of his private businesses enterprises collapsed owing millions of pounds to its creditors.

Andrew Husband, became leader of Durham County Council last year after presenting himself as an experienced and reliable businessman. However, records from Companies House show that businesses he owned or had significant control of have now been placed into administration or liquidation with combined debts running well into seven figures.

Two of Mr. Husband’s firms alone reportedly left behind liabilities of more than £1.5 million pounds, including unpaid tax liabilities, government-backed Covid loans, as well as money owed to staff.

Even his 'audit' of DCC's finances to "save tax payers money" belly-flopped...

Shortly after taking up the leadership of one of the regions largest local councils, he announced plans to conduct a wide-ranging audit of Durham Councils spending, citing high-profile cost-cutting approaches similar to that used in the United States, however, this ultimately 'belly-flopped' after DCC recently announced it was set to press ahead with an eyewatering Council Tax increase for local residents as well as the abolition of 100% council tax support leaving many struggling households having to pay council tax of up to 10% for the very first time.

One of his companies, United Hygiene and Catering Equipment, was said to have supplied equipment to schools and hospitals, but was eventually wound up in 2023 owing over £1 million pounds. Liquidators later confirmed that there would be no money left to distribute to creditors, leaving tax payers to absorb the losses.

Among those left out of pocket were said to be HMRC, which was owed tens of thousands of pounds, as well as the business Funding Circle, who had reportedly provided Husband with a £200,000 taxpayer-backed coronavirus loan. Former employees were also said to have been left waiting for holiday pay and redundancy payments.

A second business, ran by Husband 'UHC Leisure', which operated pubs and hotels, entered administration in mid-2025. That firm alone was said to to have owed HMRC close to half a million pounds in unpaid VAT, National Insurance, and PAYE contributions before going under. Further concerns have also been raised over additional companies linked to Mr. Husband which later collapsed, leaving behind with them hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid debts.

Not my fault.... Its the Government !

Mr Husband claims many of his firms were operating profitably before he took on the role as leader of Durham Council.

Mr Husband has rejected claims he's repeatedly 'mismanaged' his businesses and instead blamed national government policy for the collapse of his firms, arguing that they were operating profitably before he shifted his focus to politics, claiming that political failures — not commercial ones — drove him into public life.

Reform UK maintains that its representatives bring strong financial discipline to local councils, stating that the party has delivered hundreds of millions of pounds in savings across the local councils it now controls, however critics claim this latest episode is a scene of what's yet to come if Reform gains hold of further local councils in the region, with Husbands business failures a picture of what Reform Led councils could look like after the May 2026 local elections have taken place.

Calls for the Council leader to step down

Opposition members at Durham County Council are reportedly said to be calling for the council leader to step down from the role claiming his multiple failed businesses show's he's unsuitable for the role as leader of a council managing a budget of over £1.5 Billion Pounds and that his position as leader has become untenable..

Nationally, Reform UK claim they've saved over £330m pounds from a number of local councils they now control, however this number is largely disputed & comes against the backdrop of several of those councils announcing significant Council Tax Increases & cuts to services & Council Tax support raising questions as to whether the money being saved, is in fact, coming at the cost for local tax payers in the form of reduced council services and repeated claims Reform's plans to 'overhaul' local government finances are fundamentally flawed.