A Reform council leader, who is responsible for a budget of £1.5billion, has seen his companies collapse after owing £1.5million.
Andrew Husband, who runs Durham County Council, owns two companies that have been placed into administration with huge debts, including more than £500,000 in unpaid taxes, government-backed Covid loans, and wages owed to staff.
He was hailed as "a business leader with a proven track record," when elected last May, while he described himself as a "business leader who brings positivity and gravitas to an organisation".
He quickly announced plans to audit council spending, taking inspiration from Elon Musk's work with the Trump administration.
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Mr Husband now oversees a £1.5billion budget serving 513,000 people in the north east.
United Hygiene and Catering Equipment, which supplied kits to schools and hospitals, owed more than £1million when Mr Husband applied to wind it up in May 2023.
Liquidators have confirmed "there will be no funds available" for creditors, including HMRC, which is owed over £69,000, and Funding Circle, which provided a £200,000 state-backed coronavirus loan.
Former employees waiting for holiday and redundancy pay will also be left without compensation.
A reform council leader, who is responsible for a budget of £1.5billion, has seen his companies collapse after owing £1.5million
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His second company, UHC Leisure, a pub and hotel business, was placed into administration in July 2025.
That company owes HMRC a whopping £470,000 in VAT, national insurance and PAYE contributions.
Mr Husband also faces questions about two other firms that entered liquidation owing a further £364,000.
Wendy Brookes, a local entrepreneur who runs Team Contracts, a Durham embroidery business, was among those left waiting for money.
She was owed £855 by United Hygiene and Catering Equipment.
Brookes said she "luckily" got paid because Mr Husband wanted more uniforms for another company, Restaurant Kitchen, who then actually helped settle the debt, despite being a separate business.
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Andrew Husband was elected at Durham County Council in May this year
|GETTY
Ms Brookes said the council leader's business partner told her "Andrew was involved still in the background [but] couldn't be a director at the moment."
Restaurant Kitchen has since gone into liquidation too, owing £279,000, with former staff among the creditors.
Ms Brookes has made her feelings clear, saying she's "stayed clear" of Mr Husband and "refused any further business" with him.
Mr Husband has defended himself, blaming "bad government, not bad management" for his companies' failures, and insisted: "Both were profitable prior to closure, coinciding with my focus moving to politics. Bad government got me into politics."
Mr Husband has defended himself, blaming "bad government, not bad management" for his companies' failures, and insisted: "Both were profitable prior to closure, coinciding with my focus moving to politics. Bad government got me into politics."
Despite the business troubles, Mr Husband remains available to hire for TTM Management, a modelling agency with which he signed with in 2002 under the name Andy Tennant.
Mr Husband said: "During COVID, bad government shut down the economy and of course that caused huge problems for all sorts of businesses, especially in hospitality. United Hygiene was profitable right up to the year it closed. Even after a closure the facts are it was a net contributor to the public purse.
"UHC Leisure was also profitable in the year prior to closure, caused by a much publicised fire in December 2024.
"There are all sorts of factual inaccuracies in the story. The numbers doubled & tripled depending which lefty journalist is covering it. All staff got paid, I was one of the biggest creditors. Bank debts with PG’s were negotiated and settled.
"There is no suggestion I have done anything wrong, what is clear I decided to quite rightly exit from hospitality and all associated businesses. I am not responsible for subsequent failures years and years after.
"It is another sad example of the press looking for any excuse to bash Reform. My success spans a near 30 year career in high level senior roles with blue chip companies. Self made, businesses built from scratch and a track record of generating the best part of £20m of new business over a decade.
"You learn as much in failure as you do in success. Bad government are at fault and bad government got me into politics and here we are. Karma. A voice for businesses now struggling everywhere, with empathy having lived it and a huge motivation to fix this country from the ground up. Starting with our local councils. The more they attack us, the harder we will work. It galvanises us."
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