You have to hand it to Reform Mayor Andrea Jenkyns – she got her first nonsense in at the earliest opportunity. Elected to the highest office of Lincolnshire County Council this week, the former Tory minister took a swipe at diversity officers – but it has backfired spectacularly.
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As per The Independent, Jenkyns recently told a Reform rally in Kent that her party would seek to emulate the DOGE department introduced by the US and run by Elon Musk in the local authorities they have taken control of. She declared that DEI staff would be first on the chopping block.
“We are going to have a Lincolnshire DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency]. We are going to ensure that we get rid of diversity officers because amazingly Lincolnshire County Council is now Reform controlled. That is a historic moment.” | Andrea Jenkyns
Slight problem on that front, mind. A response to a Freedom of Information Request from Lincolnshire Council has confirmed that there are no diversity officers on their books. Although these positions do exist in other councils.
Reform take control of Lincolnshire County Council
That hasn’t stopped the experienced politician from doubling-down on her claims, though. She has gone on to argue that ‘diversity training’ is the sort of thing she’d be looking to eliminate within the council, and even mentioned ‘rainbow lanyards’ as an issue to tackle. Of course.
“North Lincolnshire Council have them. I have been told by their employees that the leadership pressure staff to wear rainbow lanyards too. They also have diversity officers, named as ‘Outreach Officers’.” | Andrea Jenkyns
Her rhetoric falls in line with that of party leader Nigel Farage. The Brexit architect proudly told diversity officers in all councils to ‘look for other jobs immediately’, failing to hide his glee at the thought of mass lay-offs. This messaging may create a backlash, however.
Unions issue warning to Farage and co
Council workers are being urged to join unions and learn their rights. UNISON’s Christine McAnea posted her thoughts to social media on Saturday, telling Farage and his Reform colleagues to ‘think again’ when it comes to threatening these workers:
“Disappointing but not unexpected that Farage thinks he can immediately threaten local government workers in the councils Reform will control. Think again – this isn’t the USA – we have laws that protect workers, and strong unions that will ALWAYS stand up for their members.” | Christine McAnea