Four out of five Reform UK-controlled councils are proposing council tax rises of 5% – the maximum permitted by law – despite the party campaigning on pledges to freeze or reduce bills.
Kent county council, Reform’s flagship authority and described as a “shop window” for party governance, published a draft budget late on Thursday night proposing a 3.99% increase. The move has prompted accusations of broken promises from opposition councillors.
Linden Kemkaran, who leads Kent county council as Reform leader, defended the rise as necessary to protect frontline services. She stated it was lower than the anticipated 5% increase.
“When this administration took office, the council was facing a very serious financial situation. KCC was saddled with more than £700m of debt, around £84,000 was being spent every day on interest alone, and pressures on vital services were continuing to grow,” Ms Kemkaran said.
She added: “Since then, we are on track to deliver £100m of savings and income, we have reprofiled almost £40m of future spending, and we have reduced the council’s debt by £67m.”
However, Anthony Hook, who leads the Liberal Democrat opposition group on Kent county council, criticised the proposal. He noted that despite campaigning on a platform of tax cuts, Reform’s budget would see the average Band D household pay roughly £67.47 more per year.
“Reform stood for election promising to make savings and lower the burden on taxpayers. Today, that promise has been utterly broken,” Mr Hook said. “They are boasting about a nearly 4% increase instead of 5%, a difference of just 33p per week for the average Kent family. It is a poor outcome given the hype and promises made at the election and for the last nine months.”
Alister Brady, a Labour councillor on Kent county council, echoed the criticism. “Reform will try to deflect and mislead but the facts are clear. During the election they said they would cut council tax but in their first budget they have put council tax up,” he said.
Opposition councillors in Kent have cited Reform leaflets from last year pledging to freeze or cut council tax.
Elsewhere, Derbyshire county council confirmed a 5% rise earlier this week after facing a £38m budget gap, with overspends in children’s and adult social care. North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire county councils are also proposing 5% rises.
Lincolnshire county council, which informed councillors of a 4.99% proposal on Tuesday, is conducting public consultation on alternatives including a 3.99% rise that would create a £4.1m deficit.
Bill Barrett, an independent councillor formerly in Kent’s Reform group, expressed concerns about the budget’s implications. He warned that £10m less coming in from council tax means £10m of savings must now be found, adding: “I really do fear for services across Kent once we delve into the details of this draft budget.”
Tony Travers, a visiting professor in the London School of Economics’ department of government, suggested Reform has faced a steep learning curve. “Reform has been enduring a long and sharp learning experience in the last year about the realities of running council budgets that have been squeezed for the past 15 years,” he said.
He added: “Frankly I am surprised that few, if any, have managed to achieve a figure significantly below 5% because it would have provided Farage with impressive political ammunition given their hopes of making further gains in local elections next year.”
Kent’s draft budget faces a vote at a full council meeting next month. Reform retains a significant majority despite defections and ejections from the group. Leaked footage from a chaotic internal Reform meeting in October showed members told to “fucking suck it up” if they disagreed with decisions.
