𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Lefty council bosses offered colleagues counselling after Nigel Farage visited their city. Managers at Leeds City Council believed colleagues would be so traumatised by the presence of Mr Farage that they staff a “safe space” to talk about how upset they were. The Reform UK leader has now called for the officers responsible to be sacked – and branded them “pathetic, weak people”.

A message from John Ebo, the council’s head of human resources, read: “No doubt you will have picked up in the news that Nigel Farage and Reform are holding an event/rally. I am mindful such events impact on colleagues, and would ask that we enable safe space conversations for colleagues such as the Wellbeing network chats.”

And the email warned: “Be vigilant if you are in the city centre that day.”

Mr Farage told the newspaper: “These are pathetic, weak people who don’t understand democracy. They should all be sacked.”

Leeds City Council said the emails “do not represent formal communications”.

Reform are hoping to make gains in May’s elections for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, and English local councils.

Labour will “fight for every single vote” in May, according to Communities Secretary Steve Reed.

Mr Reed said the party had a “record to stand on” in office and “we have to make our case”.

But Labour’s plummeting opinion poll ratings since the general election landslide suggest Sir Keir Starmer’s party could face a mauling in May across England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr Reed said: “We’ve got elections coming in and we’re going to fight for every single vote. Not a single vote has been cast yet.

“But we’ve got teams up and down the country. I’ve been out door-knocking with many of them and the response on the doorsteps has been more positive than the opinion polls might make it look.

“Ahead of an election, we go out there and we fight for every single vote, and we’ve got a record to stand on.”