The new leader of Kent County Council is Linden Kemkaran. The Reform Maidstone South East councillor was elected as leader following a meeting of all 57 of the party’s new intake at County Hall after several names had been put forward as front runners including Maxine Fothergill (Sevenoaks Rural North East), Ms Kemkaran and Paul Thomas (Maidstone South). Romney Marsh’s David Wimble is believed to be proposed as a deputy.
Ms Kemkaran will now be tasked to steer the authority through some of the most important issues facing the Council because not only will Reform UK inherit a council teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, but will have to dismantle much of the administration to make way for the needed improvements and the changes in the government’s local government while also providing all the statutory services, such as the costly adult social care.
The previous council leadership had complained to central government about inadequate levels of funding to meet the soaring cost of services, whilst spending ridiculous sums on DEI projects and other unnecessary expenditure.
The Conservatives, who were decimated from 57 councillors to just 5 in an “apocalyptic” result at the count on May 2, have yet to elect a group leader, with the Liberal Democrats, with 12 members, now being the official opposition.
Cllr Rayner said: “I do genuinely wish Reform all the best in the new administration. But the reality is that running a council with a turnover of £2bn has to be faced by newly elected people with little experience of running an authority of this size.”
To add to the challenges faced by Reform UK, the council’s chief executive, Amanda Beer, is stepping down in November following massive criticism of her failure to keep teh Council in budget and the recruitment process to replace her was delayed until the outcome of the May election. It will be interesting to see who will apply for the job now that Reform is in charge.
Kent County Council (KCC) is facing significant financial challenges, requiring substantial savings and had previously announced increases in council tax to balance its expenditure. The council had to dip into its reserves and is implementing measures to reduce spending, including service transformations and staff cost reductions, as well as raising council tax by 4.99%, with 2% specifically for social care. These financial pressures are largely due to increased demand and costs for social care and other key services, particularly for vulnerable residents, exceeding the available funding from government and local taxes. KCC faces an estimated budget gap of £81 million for the next financial year, requiring significant savings and potential council tax increases to balance its budget as well as dealing with demand for social care services (adult and children’s) and home-to-school transport is rising faster than funding, and the cost of these services is also increasing, putting pressure on the council’s budge