Dan Harrison has resigned as Reform UK leader of Leicestershire County Council after initially insisting he would stay, following the release of a recording in which he discussed making 76 solicitors redundant and said he wanted to look at “the women”.

Harrison announced his departure on Monday, reversing his position earlier that day. He said he had taken advice from senior Reform colleagues, including deputy leader Kevin Crook and group whip Andrew Hamilton-Gray. Crook has taken over as acting leader.

The remarks were made at a Reform party meeting on Tuesday and subsequently released on social media. In the recording, Harrison said: “There's 76 solicitors will be made redundant.” He described them as “incompetent” and said the council would buy in the service instead.

He continued: “What I want to look at now is the women so it is ongoing, I would like it to be at great pace but I can tell you now if we suddenly drove massive redundancies the liberals would walk away.”

Harrison apologised unreservedly to council staff and officers for any hurt, distress or offence caused by publication of the comments. He described the meeting as heated and said he had expected privacy and confidentiality.

But he maintained that his remarks had been taken completely out of context. He said he had given officers no instruction or direction on the matters discussed, and that there had been neither discussion nor agreement with officers. “I unequivocally reject any suggestion that staffing decisions are being taken based on gender,” he said.

That distinction matters for employees: the recording contains statements about redundancies, but Harrison denies that these became instructions or agreed measures.

The council’s 15 Conservative councillors had sought an emergency vote to remove him. Their group leader, Deborah Taylor, said concerns about employees’ treatment and the recordings had made his position untenable. She said his resignation should not mean those concerns were forgotten and that questions still required answers.

Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher, representing Loughborough, and Amanda Hack, representing North West Leicestershire, accused the administration of becoming distracted by controversy rather than serving residents. They cited a code-of-conduct finding against councillor Joseph Boam the previous week concerning his actions against the former monitoring officer, alongside apologies by other Reform councillors over their behaviour.

Harrison, who had led the council’s first Reform administration since May 2025, described the role as the “honour of his life”. He will remain councillor for Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Reform remains the largest party and continues to run a minority administration.