Reform UK Breaks Promise In Kent: Council Tax Rise Looms After Green Warnings Ignored

The Reform UK-run Kent County Council – once touted as the “biggest advert” for what a Nigel Farage government would look like – has admitted it is preparing to raise council tax by up to 5% next year.

The admission by Reform’s cabinet member for adult social care, Diane Morton, comes despite repeated promises from the party to “cut costs” and run Kent more efficiently. Instead, the council now faces a £50m budget shortfall and “services already down to the bare bones.”

This makes Kent the latest Reform-controlled local authority to announce a tax rise, following similar warnings from West Northamptonshire, Durham and Staffordshire councils.

Broken promises, same old failures

Morton told the Financial Times: “We’ve got more demand than ever before and it’s growing. We just want more money.” But Reform UK’s own “Department of Government Efficiency” (nicknamed the “Doge” unit) – intended to root out waste and streamline council spending – appears to have stalled. According to reports, the team has struggled to access sensitive council data and failed to deliver promised savings.

This is a spectacular climbdown from the party that campaigned on promises of drastic cost-cutting. As Green Party councillors, including Mark Hood, warned from the outset, Reform’s claims of easy savings were “smoke and mirrors” and would inevitably lead to either service cuts or tax rises.

False economies and real pain

Independent experts have repeatedly said the numbers never added up. The Institute for Government has warned that slashing preventive services like Kent’s family hub for children with special educational needs is a “false economy” that stores up even higher costs for the future.

Yet Reform’s leadership has floated ideas such as cutting school transport funding – a move that would hit rural families and vulnerable children the hardest.

As Polly Billington, Labour MP for East Thanet, put it: “Now we know what putting Reform in charge means: huge promises about savings, then failing to find any because they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Kent residents paying the price

Kent County Council has a £2.5bn annual budget, half of which goes to social care and children with special educational needs. With services already under strain, residents are now being asked to pay more while receiving less.

This council tax rise represents a betrayal of Kent taxpayers who were promised something entirely different. It is also a warning for the country: if Reform cannot deliver on its pledges locally, how could it possibly deliver nationally?

The Green Party has consistently argued for realistic, evidence-based budgets and investments that actually save money long-term – from energy efficiency to well-funded public transport – rather than short-term gimmicks. It’s becoming clear who was right.

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