Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has insisted there is no chaos in the councils his party runs and there are plans to deliver “hundreds of millions of pounds” in savings.

In an interview with the BBC, Tice dismissed the suggestion that his party had brought chaos to County Durham Council after two of its councillors quit, triggering by-elections and a third was suspended.

“There’s no chaos, there is success. We are saving money, identifying waste and voters like that,” he said.

He also said the party was confident of more success in next year’s local elections, particularly in north-east England.

May 2026 will see all-out council elections in Sunderland, Newcastle, South Tyneside and Gateshead, as well as a third of seats being fought in North Tyneside.

Tice said he thought Reform UK was going to do “incredibly well” with ambitions to stand in every seat.

“I’ve been up in Sunderland recently, so has our chairman Dr David Bull, we are getting massive support and I think people will in a sense want to benefit from the great success we are achieving in County Durham cutting out waste,” he added.

One of the party’s county councillors, John Bailey, left through ill-health in June.

In May Andrew Kilburn had to resign just over a week after his election to be the councillor for Benfieldside, after failing to declare that he worked for the council.

The by-elections were estimated to cost around £20,000 each of public money to run.

A third councillor has been suspended after allegations emerged about his social media posts that included derogatory references to Reform UK dating to before his election.

Paul Bean, who works for the Home Office, is also accused of making comments about asylum seekers which breached impartiality.

However, Tice said the party was focused on delivering savings for council taxpayers and was already making major progress.

He said the party’s plan to reform the way council pension funds were run could save hundreds of millions of pounds in Durham and its other councils, to either cut council tax or invest in services like social care.

Pensions UK, which represents the country’s pension funds, has questioned the likelihood of such significant savings being made.

It said the local government pension scheme was one of the most successful in the world and was already being reformed.

It also said policy-proposing changes should be backed up by evidence and detailed plans.

Durham County Council is currently consulting on a plan which could see the poorest pay more council tax through changes to a support scheme.

A decision is due later this year, but Tice said everyone in the county would gain from plans to cut waste, with the Milburngate development in Durham and a “waste scheme” also being looked at.