Reform-led council to announce ‘first big savings' after Farage visit

South Wales Guardian

3 days ago

Earlier this week, Reform party leader Nigel Farage visited Kent County Council (KCC) headquarters in Maidstone and promised announcements at the full council meeting on Thursday.
Last month, Reform UK launched a Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) initiative to cut council spending after taking 677 seats at the local elections on May 1.
The party said it plans to use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to 'identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions'.
It follows the US Doge which was launched during Donald Trump's presidency to cut federal spending which billionaire Elon Musk spearheaded before his departure.
On Monday, speaking to the PA news agency in Kent, Mr Farage said: 'We've established a cabinet, we've got a first big full council meeting this Thursday at which our first big savings will be announced.'
However, KCC opposition leader Liberal Democrat Antony Hook said that 'no key decisions have been taken' by Reform and that most committees are yet to meet.
The Conservatives have called for an information watchdog to regulate Reform's cost-cutting drive due to the data protection risks involved.
Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake warned that handing the data to Reform is a 'cyber-security disaster waiting to happen' as he wrote to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) calling for an investigation.
KCC's Reform leader Linden Kemkaran said that a 'legal framework' is being drawn up to ensure the Doge project works within data protection rules.
'The councillors have been elected to be here in Kent County Council, we have jurisdiction to do stuff, we can pull data, we can look at figures, we can go through everything – head office doesn't,' she said.
She added: 'They're ready and waiting, they're just waiting for our call saying 'we're ready come in' but until that legal framework is drawn up to everyone's satisfaction we're just carrying on with our own internal work.'
Despite the absence of the head-office Doge project, Ms Kemkaran maintained that she will be announcing savings on Thursday including a vote on a cut to councillors' allowances.
By population, KCC is the largest local authority in England and Mr Farage's Reform party took 57 of the 81 seats in the elections on May 1.
Prior to their victory the council had been controlled by the Conservatives for 28 years.
Critics of the Reform-led authority have pointed to a lack of council meetings and conflicting announcements made via social media.
Last week, Ms Kemkaran and a member of her cabinet announced on social media that transgender-related books were to be removed from libraries across the county after receiving a report from a member of the public.
It was later revealed that no such books were in the children's section of Kent libraries, but instead one related book was on a welcome stand in Herne Bay.
KCC then issued a statement that the announcements were not a change of policy, but rather reiterating an instruction to the 99 libraries under their control.
Labour MP for Chatham and Aylesford Tristian Osbourne told the BBC the alleged removal of the books was 'unedifying gender-baiting of the LGBT community'.
On Monday, Ms Kemkaran defended the announcements, saying: 'It was a completely valid point to make, it was a completely valid question to ask because I think we've seen a lack of child safeguarding,'
Mr Hook said: 'The committee that would deal with library issues met on Tuesday. No mention of this issue but instead they hit up social media on Thursday. It's such poor governance.'
The council meeting begins at Sessions House in Maidstone at 10am on Thursday.