Andrew Husband

Andrew John Husband is a British entrepreneur and politician who has served as the Reform UK Leader of Durham County Council and as Durham County Councillor for Chester-le-Street North since May 2025.

Early life

Husband was born and raised in Chester-le-Street. He attended Gateshead College before studying for a business degree in Leeds which involved working in foreign countries including in the USA and Belgium.

Business career

When announced as the leader of Reform UK in Durham County Council, a party spokesman said Husband was "a business leader with a proven track record of growth in startups and building successful teams". It was an equipment supplier for schools and hospitals. It entered creditors' voluntary liquidation in May 2023 with debts exceeding £1,000,000. Liquidators reported there were insufficient funds to repay creditors or former employees.

Later, in October 2016, Husband set up Restaurant Kitchen as an installer of industrial machinery and equipment. Husband resigned as a director of Restaurant Kitchen in July 2022 before it entered liquidation in 2024 with debts of £279,000. However, he denied any suggestion of wrongdoing and said many failures occurred after he left directorship positions. He was appointed director of his local governmental association in July 2026.

Political career

Husband is a member of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. He is a supporter of Farage, and said he provided him with a political home. ) candidate for North Tyneside. He gained 5,254 votes, a vote share of 10.4%, ultimately being unsuccessful in his bid to be elected as the constituency's MP.

2024 General Election

In the 2024 General Election, Husband ran as the Reform candidate for the North Durham constituency. He gained 10,689 votes while the Labour Party candidate, Luke Akehurst, gained 16,562 votes and was therefore elected as the MP for the constituency. Husband did, however, beat the Conservative Party candidate, George Carter, who received 6,492 votes. Husband said Reform's gain in momentum in the election was due to the charisma of Nigel Farage and his ability to connect with the public as well as a focus on the cost of living crisis.

2025 Local Elections

Husband stood as a candidate for Reform in the Chester-le-Street North ward in Durham County Council during the 2025 United Kingdom local elections. Amid Reform making significant gains nationally during the local elections, he was elected as one of two councillors for the ward after receiving 1,139 votes, 20.9% of the total number received. On 14 May 2025, fellow councillors elected Husband as the leader of the Reform group of councillors in Durham County Council and as the leader of the council. Before taking on the role, Husband said in an interview that he wanted to take considered, deliberate actions to provide the public with greater value for money. He was formally appointed as the new leader of the council in its Annual Meeting on 21 May 2025, saying he wanted to "grasp the opportunity that people have given us to make a difference".

Leader of Durham County Council

On 21 May 2025, the day on which Reform assumed full control of the council, it took down LGBTQ+ and Ukraine flags at the council headquarters, which were in solidarity with the Pride movement and Russo-Ukrainian War, respectively. This decision faced criticism, including from Liberal Democrat councillor Ellie Hopgood, Durham Pride chair Mel Metcalf, and Bishop Auckland Pride director Thomas Wales.

After Reform set up a unit to scrutinise public spending, inspired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Husband said the unit would be auditing Durham County Council in the future. The Reform party leader, Nigel Farage, had previously said any of the council's staff working "on climate change initiatives or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion...better really be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly" after his party took control of the council. Husband later downplayed Farage's comments, saying the party would take time to carefully review council data before taking any action.

In April 2026, ChronicleLive reported that Husband had used a homophobic slur on social media during an exchange with a local Labour Party group. While he and Reform declined to comment, Labour described the language as "damaging rhetoric".

Views

Husband has made statements critical of COVID-19 vaccines. The Spectator and Byline Times reported that he had described mRNA vaccines as "the most dangerous product ever forced upon the public" and COVID vaccines as "the greatest crime against humanity". The Times reported that Husband had called Charles III a "climate cracker" over his environmental advocacy. The Northern Echo reported that he had described Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine during its war against Russia, as "evil and corrupt".