00:00You get Labour. But if you vote reform in the middles of the north, from now up until the general election, if you vote reform, you get...
00:11And those messages are big and strong and clear. And they're my big takeaways from what's happened here over the course of the last 24 hours.
00:24For many of you, you won't have been in council office before. But remember, stick to our principles.
00:31And I would advise anybody who's working for Durham County Council on climate change initiatives, or diversity, equity and inclusion, or things that can go on working from home,
00:43I think you all better really be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly.
00:54We want to give council taxpayers better value for money. We want to reduce excessive expenditure.
00:59We want to find out who the long-term contracts are signed with and why.
01:04And reduce the scale of local government back to what it ought to be. Providing social care. Providing needs for kids.
01:12Oh! And I nearly forgot, mending potholes.
01:17And I promise you, if you can mend the potholes, get the right technology, get the right contract, you will all be re-elected in four years' time.
01:26I've been on this political road for a very, very long time.
01:29But I do genuinely believe that what has happened yesterday, the length and breadth of England, is a truly historic landmark.
01:39And I have little doubt in my mind that the optimism of our voters, you've met them out there on the street.
01:45They really believe in us. They want change. And they know they're not going to get change.
01:49From Starmer, or indeed for whoever, the sixth or seventh or eighth leader of the Conservative Party in ten years is.
01:57We are the agents of change. We are the agents of optimism. We are the ones unafraid to stand up for our principles,
02:04our belief in our nation, our absolute desire to protect our borders.
02:09And the number of people I met in the north, just so enraged.
02:15Because they get up early in the morning, they go to work, they pay their taxes.
02:20And they see young men crossing the English Channel, being dumped into the north of England, getting everything for free.
02:27And then once they're given indefinitely to remain, put to the top of the social housing list.
02:33It is unfair. It is irresponsible. It is wrong in every way.
02:39And I don't believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it.
02:42But it's only what we, at national level, have got the guts to deal with it.
02:46And we will resist central government plonking scores hundreds of these young men in these counties that we now control.
02:56I will also, I will attempt to speak to the major, they were major political leaders.
03:14They're all in love with net zero.
03:17The Conservatives brought it into law. Labour are now pursuing it with sort of religious fervour that Ed Miliband applies to it.
03:26And you and I both know that the Labour Party promised to produce national bills by £300,
03:32when they've gone up £300, and that we now have the most expensive energy in the world
03:38because of lunatic, net zero policies that are de-industrialising Britain.
03:43Let's be clear, we want to produce our own gas, our own oil, make our own steel, make our own copper wire.
03:51We want to re-industrialise Britain, re-industrialise the north, and give men and women well-paid, skilled jobs
03:58and a sense of pride in their community and what they do.
04:01And we can't do that from Durham County Council, but we can set the markers for how we intend to govern.
04:09You have cleared a very important hurdle today.
04:13And next year we'll clear those hurdles in the Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections.
04:19And I believe, as I think you believe, we really will make history and win the next general election.
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