A Week Is a Long Time in Kent Politics: Reform UK’s Chaotic Takeover of Kent County Council

It began with pomp, promises, and a pinch of political theatre. By Monday, it was already spiralling into farce.

On Monday morning, the self-styled “Doge Team” of Reform UK swept into Kent County Council’s (KCC) County Hall, proclaiming their mission to “examine the books” of the largest local authority in England. Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf led the charge, flanked by controversial Brexit financier Arron Banks, tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried, newly-installed council leader Linden Kemkaran, and deputy leader Brian Collins.

According to Reform UK insiders, the aim was a “deep dive” into Kent’s finances – a kind of forensic audit led by political outsiders with strong opinions and, it turns out, a weak grasp of public record-keeping.

By Wednesday, the Doge Team released what they touted as the first explosive finding from their AI-assisted crusade against waste.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t a discovery at all.

Their headline claim – that a care provider was paid £63,000 to look after someone who had already died – was lifted verbatim from a May 2024 report to KCC’s own Audit and Governance Committee. That incident, already identified and transparently reported by KCC’s internal counter-fraud team, had been thoroughly covered by journalist Simon Finlay for Kent Online over a year ago. The relevant public documents – including the webcast, agenda and action plan – remain freely available online.

The mishap exposed the DOGE team not as fearless auditors but as ghosthunters, fumbling through open filing cabinets in search of headlines that had already been printed. As one newly elected Councillor remarked: “If Reform UK had subscribed to Kent Online, they could’ve saved themselves a taxi fare and a red face.”

Cracks in the Reform Team

By Thursday, the Doge drama took another twist.

Both Zia Yusuf and Nathaniel Fried announced their resignations from Reform UK. That left Cllr Linden Kemkaran, newly-minted leader of Kent County Council and the national face of Reform in local government, scrambling to steady the ship.

Delays and Divisions Over Local Government Reform

On Friday, Kemkaran (pictured) made her first major policy move: requesting a four-month extension to the government’s proposed timetable for sweeping local government reform across Kent.

Under plans first floated in March 2024, Kent’s existing two-tier system – comprising 12 district and borough councils alongside KCC – is set to be abolished. In its place would be three or four large unitary authorities, overseen by a county-wide combined authority led by a directly elected mayor.

But in a letter to Whitehall, Kemkaran made clear her administration would not be bound by proposals developed under her Conservative predecessor. Instead, she asked for the submission deadline to be pushed back from November 2025 to March 2026, citing the need for “constructive discussions” and public engagement.

“In a county of almost 1.9 million people, meaningful engagement over such a major reorganisation cannot be rushed,” she wrote.

Opposition Response: “Premature” or “Prudent”?

Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Antony Hook (pictured) cautiously welcomed the idea of public engagement, but questioned the timing.

“Requesting an extension before trying to make progress looks premature,” he said. “It risks appearing like an attempt to kick the can down the road.”

Hook also warned against any attempt by Reform UK to avoid scrutiny: “If the council refuses to create a dedicated reorganisation committee, we will use every scrutiny committee to raise it in public.”

At present, no such committee has been formed by the new administration.

A Week of Lessons?

As Kent braces for potentially its most radical political reconfiguration since 1974, the first five weeks of Reform UK’s rule at County Hall has delivered a mixture of drama, confusion, and contradiction.

In just the last five days:

• A “deep dive” exposed nothing new;

• Two top Reform figures resigned;

• A delay was requested for a reform that Reform had campaigned to accelerate;

• And the question of how – or whether – public trust in Kent politics can be rebuilt remains unanswered.

One thing’s clear: for Reform UK at Kent County Council, a week really is a long time in politics.

The Shepway Vox Team

Dissent is NOT a Crime