Reform UK has been warned it is on a collision course with the law over one of its key manifesto pledges after sweeping to power in 10 councils across England last week.
Following May 1's barnstorming electoral evening for Nigel Farage's party, Reform has amped up its pledges to scrap a host of DEI initiatives crippling local authorities across the land.
Party chairman Zia Yusuf has vowed to send in "task forces" to slash woke waste - and has warned that "considerable money" is being splurged on diversity drives.
In Lincolnshire, the county's new mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns has pledged to bring in a "Lincolnshire Doge [Department of Government Efficiency, a la Elon Musk]" - following Nigel Farage's vow that "every county needs a Doge".
"We are going to ensure that we get rid of diversity officers because, amazingly, Lincolnshire County Council is now Reform controlled," she told the Independent. "That is a historic moment."
More broadly, Farage has told his newly-elected councillors not to attend any "DEI and climate change training".
Nigel Farage's party will face an uphill battle to scrap DEI lunacy
PA
"Our new elected officials will do no such thing because we believe all people should be treated equally," he blasted.
Jenkyns also warned that North Lincolnshire Council's leadership "pressure staff to wear rainbow lanyards too".
"They also have diversity officers, named as 'outreach officers'," she said, and warned the broader county council "has all the awful [DEI] training" either way.
But as Reform gears up to ditch DEI, the party could soon face a crucial stumbling block: the Equality Act.
Local councils across Britain are mandated by law to implement DEI policy as part of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Act.
MORE MEMBERSHIP STORIES ON REFORM UK:
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, pictured ahead of winning the mayoralty of Greater Lincolnshire
PAThe PSED requires public bodies to consider how their policies and decisions might impact individuals with protected characteristics, such as age, disability or even gender reassignment.
If Reform tries to scrap such policies, the party has been told it could fall foul of the law.
And as well as Farage's party is polling - one survey by Find Out Now on Thursday placed them at a staggering 33 per cent - it still faces a four-year wait before a shot at taking over central government.
As a result, the 10 Reform UK-controlled councils could face a battle against Sir Keir Starmer's Government.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned to The Spectator on Wednesday: "Yes, they can change the flags, but an awful lot of the duties of local councils are statutory duties that they have to carry out.
PICTURED: Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg on The Spectator's Coffee House Shots show
THE SPECTATOR
"Regrettably, they won't be able to get rid of as much DEI as I would like them to," the veteran former Tory MP said.
Because of the PSED, Reform "will be endlessly taken to court if they don't follow it".
In response, Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said: "We are well aware that the levers of power held by local government pale in comparison to the ones held in Westminster.
"Obviously, our ambition is for Nigel to get the keys to No10 and for us to have 350-400 Reform MPs in 2029.
"We will pull those levers available to us with all our might in the direction of patriotism and listening to our constituents."
Gawain Towler, Reform UK's ex-communications chief, told GB News 'Reform councils will work hard to remove that woke plating' on DEI waste
PAClose Farage ally and ex-Reform comms chief Gawain Towler is sounding bullish, too.
He told GB News: "Many - if not most - DEI schemes currently operating go far beyond the scope of the Equality Act legislation.
"There has been industrial rainbow-plating of the regulations, and Reform councils will work hard to remove that woke plating.
"Councils should serve all ratepayers, not just the fashionable few."
