Reform-led Durham county council scraps climate emergency declaration

Durham Cathedral. The council voted instead to declare a care emergency, a move described as ‘cynical and insulting’ by a Lib Dem councillor. Photograph: Gannet77/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A Reform-led council is thought to have become the first in the UK to rescind its climate emergency declaration, a move condemned as “a very dark day” for the authority.

Durham county council, which has had an overwhelming Reform majority since the May local elections, passed a motion to rescind a declaration made in 2019. More than 300 local authorities have declared a climate emergency.