00:01All of our energies have been focused on choosing the right person to lead this
00:06group into the future. We've already made history. It was just six months ago at
00:10Kent County Council that Reform UK swept the local elections. They won 57 out of
00:17a possible 81 council seats, painting County Hall turquoise in the process. But
00:24six months is a long time in politics and since then we've seen suspension
00:29expulsions and infighting dominating the local and national headlines when it
00:36comes to our local upper tier authority. But what do the people that voted for them
00:47think? Are they going to give them any leeway after their first six months and
00:52do they think that time was a success?
00:55I was really disappointed with the other party.
00:58Erm, I voted for Reform but I'm sorry.
01:01You got me there. You got me there I'm afraid.
01:04This is the first six months of Reform UK in the eyes of the people of Kent.
01:11Back in May over 17,000 people turns up at the polling booths on the Isle of Sheppey and of those, nearly 10,000 voted for Reform candidates.
01:24Are those same people now feeling any buyer's remorse?
01:29Yes, exactly, yeah.
01:32Why is that? What's gone wrong?
01:34They can't seem to run a council, let alone a country.
01:38I think it's fantastic. I was all for it.
01:41And if they keep the promises that they've made, even better.
01:45I think in all parties you get arguments and people fall out of one another.
01:52Erm, I think at the moment people are finding their feet and I think once things settle down it'll be okay.
02:00We needed something different than that definitely from what we've had and that, so that's why I thought.
02:04But now I'm not, I don't know, I'm not 100% certain sort of what they've done to be honest with you.
02:11Are you getting a bit of buyer's remorse?
02:13A little bit, yes.
02:15The hint of a sea change in public opinion on the shores of Sheerness.
02:22But further inland, a different story is taking shape.
02:28Maidstone is the county town and they did elect quite a few reformed councillors.
02:35Some of whom have now been expelled from the party.
02:39Even Lyndon Kemkaren, the leader of the council, is a Maidstone councillor though for the South East Division.
02:48So do people on the streets of Maidstone support the new party at County Hall?
02:55And do they think they've been doing a good job?
02:58We can't really tell, can we?
03:00And that's for them arguing, I can't see that's anything to worry about really.
03:03Because I mean, we all get, we all get a bit under collar at times, don't we?
03:07So no buyer's remorse as of yet?
03:11No, no, no, no.
03:12And I hope they go further.
03:14I hope they go further.
03:16You know, you sort of hope they do the right thing.
03:19But I suppose they've started to try and do potholes and other things.
03:24But no, I think, I think they do the best, that's all I can say.
03:31I'm sure everybody will give reform a chance, but it just seems to be that when they get
03:40the chance, they don't know quite what to do with the situation.
03:45Personally, the way I see it is Labour couldn't do it, Conservatives couldn't do it.
03:51So let's give another party a chance, see what they do, and hopefully they can.
03:58And let's just go from there.
04:00A county divided, much like the party overseeing it.
04:04But the leader of Kent County Council says the last six months have still been a success.
04:11It's been a huge success.
04:13Yes, we've had our ups and downs.
04:14We're a brand new political party.
04:16We achieved an historic win back in May, taking control of the whole council.
04:21There were bound to be a few hiccups along the way.
04:23But do you know what?
04:24That's yesterday's news, because as you can see, it is business as usual.
04:27There's still big questions hanging in the air.
04:31There's a £2.5 billion budget to set sooner rather than later.
04:37And many people on our high streets are wondering, will the next six months be smoother than the
04:46last?
04:47Oli Leader at County Hall.
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