Cllr Linden Kemkaran reveals plans for a Reform UK-led Kent County Council

KentOnline / KMTV

Cllr Kemkaran was elected group leader at a special event this week.

Transcript

00:00It felt like the first day of school.

00:02Big smiles from all 57 reform UK councillors as they arrived at County Hall for the first time.

00:09They've taken control of KCC, an authority that's almost always been run by the Conservatives.

00:16But with the title of England's biggest local authority, they now face some of the country's biggest challenges.

00:23Before tackling those, a group leader needed.

00:26At a closed-door meeting last night, six candidates battled for the top job.

00:33Reform councillors electing Lyndon Kempkaren.

00:36And we're not about just taking money away from services.

00:39What you have to understand is we'll be looking at the entire structure of this council

00:42and we will be looking for areas where we can save money.

00:46That could be in contracts that have been negotiated and we may need to go in and renegotiate those contracts.

00:52But this is going to be a work in progress.

00:53Don't expect me to come out and give you solutions straight away.

00:57I can't do that.

00:58This is my first day in a brand new job.

01:01And like anybody, first day in a brand new job, you wouldn't expect them to have all the answers.

01:05Born and raised in Kent, Kempkaren spent most of her career as a BBC journalist.

01:10Now the microphone is on her.

01:12And she's promised to take inspiration from the United States by introducing a version of Doge to cut wasteful spending.

01:19So they need to explain a bit more about what they mean by this and whether actually it's a cover for making large cuts to public services.

01:28During the election, there was a radio hustings between the party leaders and then acting leader reform.

01:35So they were going to increase council tax by a smaller amount than the Conservatives were going to, by about 2% less.

01:42But that would involve finding tens of millions of pounds of further cuts.

01:48Last week, party figurehead Nigel Farage pledged to end working from home for KCC staff.

01:54Now the question is, will Kim Karran follow through on that promise, even if it sparks backlash from the unions?

02:01Well, you know, unions will be unions and reform will be reform.

02:05Reform are in charge of this council.

02:07You have to understand that we want a massive majority.

02:10We have absolute ultimate control.

02:12There is an opposition, but I'm not sure, you know, they're going to actually be able to change anything we want to get through.

02:18So reform are in charge and reform will be doing what we want to do.

02:21The council chamber sits quietly today, but in the coming weeks, debate is expected.

02:26For now, Kim Karran is keeping her cards close to her chest, but she has confirmed the Ukrainian flag will be coming down.

02:35I think the fact that they're here and they've come here legally and they've made their lives in Britain, some of them.

02:41Some of them have gone back home to Ukraine.

02:43Others may stay for a long time.

02:44That's absolutely marvellous.

02:46They're amazing people, the Ukrainians.

02:47They've contributed amazingly to our society.

02:50That's great.

02:51A flag doesn't change any of that.

02:52Our next task is to appoint a cabinet for the remaining 56 councillors.

02:57A decision expected as early as next week.

03:01Gabriel Morris, County Hall.

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