Durham County Council Scraps Climate Emergency Declaration as Reform UK Shifts Focus to ‘Care Emergency’

In a landmark and contentious decision, Durham County Council has voted to rescind its climate emergency declaration and scrap its ambitious net zero emissions target. The move, initiated and backed by the Reform UK-led administration, signifies a dramatic policy shift towards addressing what leaders now label a “care emergency,” with a renewed emphasis on the growing crisis in children’s social care and services for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The decision has sparked a wave of political and public reaction, reigniting debates on climate responsibility versus immediate social priorities.

Council Vote Marks Conclusive Policy U-Turn

During a full council meeting on July 16, 2025, the authority voted by a wide margin to rescind its 2019 climate emergency declaration. The official count saw 62 councillors vote in favor of the motion, 7 opposed, 17 abstentious, and 12 absent—clearly reflecting the Reform UK group’s authoritative control.

The council’s previous target, adopted in 2019, was to reach net zero emissions across all operations by 2045. This pledge had been lauded by local and national environmental groups, and helped earn Durham County Council national recognition in 2024 for its investments in carbon-cutting technology, such as wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage.

Reform UK’s Rationale: From Green Objectives to Social Crisis Response

The ‘Care Emergency’ Declaration

Darren Grimes, Reform UK’s deputy leader in Durham and the motion’s chief proponent, asserted that the council could no longer indulge in what he called “costly virtue-signaling nonsense.” Instead, Reform UK contends that the most pressing emergency facing the county is an escalating crisis in children’s social care, particularly for those with SEND needs. Grimes articulated this new direction, stating, “We aim to declare a genuine care emergency that is draining both our children and our financial resources”.

According to Reform councillors, the reallocation of resources from environmental programs to social care initiatives is the only realistic approach to averting a collapse in critical services. The new policy calls for urgent revisions to council spending, enhanced government lobbying for increased social care funding, early intervention for vulnerable children, and an overall expansion of local care provision.

Opposition Voices: Cross-Party Outcry Over Climate Rollback

Immediately after the announcement, opposition from Liberal Democrat, Green Party, and other non-Reform councillors was swift and unequivocal.

Mark Wilkes, a Liberal Democrat councillor, condemned the motion as “cynical and insulting.” He argued that not only were environmental programs not responsible for the council’s budget woes, but they had also saved the local authority £13 million in the past year through efficiency improvements—savings which, he pointed out, were already supporting frontline social care services. Wilkes said, “It is our youth who will bear the brunt of climate change, and the savings we’ve achieved through our climate initiatives… are actually aiding in the protection of frontline social care services.”

Green Party councillor Jonathan Elmer also rejected the framing of care and climate as competing priorities. He suggested that the real issue was not about diverting climate funds to care, but about using the alleged social crisis to justify a divisive political move. Elmer criticized Grimes for “inciting controversy and division rather than seeking genuine solutions,” and for failing to build cross-party consensus or consult widely with the community.

Public and Campaigner Response: Protests and Commitments to Continue

On the day of the council vote, campaigners gathered outside County Hall with banners urging sustained action on climate change. Placards carried straightforward but powerful messages such as, “Get your head out of the sand,” and, from a young boy: “If you care, allow me to have a future”. Campaign organizers pledged to maintain pressure on the council, vowing that their advocacy for energy-saving projects—many of which have already delivered savings and environmental gains—would not stop in light of the decision.

Financial and Policy Context: Climate Versus Social Spending

Reform UK insisted throughout the debate that climate action programs placed an undue burden on council finances. This claim was directly challenged by opposition leaders and independent financial analysis, with evidence that energy efficiency initiatives and green infrastructure investments had recently delivered prominent cost savings.

Wilkes pointed to rising adult and social care costs as a consequence of inflation, demographic shifts, and chronic underfunding by the central government, not environmental policies. Reform UK, for its part, had campaigned in the 2025 local elections to review net zero commitments and lower household energy levies. The climate response plan adopted in 2019 and updated several times since remains theoretically active through 2027, but future commitments now appear in jeopardy as leadership has already begun rebranding council departments and eliminating official references to climate change in governance documents.

Timeline and Achievements: What’s at Stake in the Council’s New Direction

• 2019: Durham County Council declared a climate emergency, setting a 2045 net zero emissions target.
• 2024: The council received national honors for progressing green technology solutions in wind, solar, and storage.
• May 2025: Reform UK began removing ‘climate’ language from key departmental portfolios, signaling policy change.
• July 16, 2025: Vote passed to rescind the climate emergency declaration and net zero goal.

Notably, the climate emergency response plan is still set to continue until 2027 on existing projects, but any new or extended green commitments face significant uncertainty.

Durham’s Policy Rollback in National Context

The decision by Durham now places it among the first local authorities in the UK to overtly shift away from a climate-first agenda amid rising social care pressures. Advocates fear the move could embolden other councils struggling with similar financial and service delivery dilemmas to reconsider or scrap their climate ambitions. Environmental campaigners stress that the need to confront climate change remains urgent and should not be pitted against the immediate, but distinct, problem of social care funding gaps.

Lasting Impacts and Ongoing Debate

Durham County Council’s move to drop its climate emergency declaration and reject its net zero pledge marks a new phase in local governance, one filled with political controversy and difficult trade-offs. The debate it has sparked—between climate action and social care needs—will continue to resonate, not just in County Durham but across the UK. Public interest, political scrutiny, and activist pressure are unlikely to subside, ensuring the council’s agenda will remain under close watch as the situation develops.