00:00We are a Christian country and the Lord's Prayer acts, as it has done for many years, as a profound
00:07unifier because it is a shared spiritual template.
00:11On Thursday's annual Kent County Council meeting, 48 councillors voted in favour of reciting the Lord's Prayer at the start
00:20of each full council meeting, with 15 voting against.
00:24It was an amendment that sparked fury with many members of the opposition parties.
00:30The point is we're not there to sing songs and say prayers because that's not going to get the potholes
00:35fixed.
00:35That's not going to get the schools improved. And that's what we're actually paid an allowance of about £16,000
00:40by the council taxpayers to sort out, not to sing songs and not to say prayers.
00:45We can do that in our own time.
00:46I think it's an intent by reform to distract from the closing down they're trying to do of scrutiny.
00:53As I said also last Thursday, reform councillors voted to reduce the opportunity for opposition members to speak at county
01:02council.
01:03So what we see from Reform UK in Kent is they want less scrutiny, less opportunity for opposition voices.
01:12And that would be outrageous coming from anyone.
01:14I suggested that if we were all going to be losing a minute from our speaking time, that she should
01:19lose a minute from her speaking time for the opening speech and for the reply.
01:26And unsurprisingly, that was completely unacceptable.
01:30So there's huge double standards here. We're losing the amount of time that's available for opposition members to be able
01:38to challenge and hold the administration to account.
01:42But we've got plenty of time praying and singing.
01:45I will not be reciting the Lord's Prayer or singing the national anthem.
01:49And it's not just councillors who are divided, with some residents even taken to social media to spark their frustration.
01:55And instead, I sat through hours of debate about whether councillors should say the Lord's Prayer at the start of
02:01meetings and sing the national anthem at the end.
02:03In a statement, the leader of Kent County Council said,
02:06It is not divisive. It is part of the fabric of who we are as a country.
02:11The things we do at the beginning and end of our meetings say something about who we are and what
02:17we value.
02:18With opinions divided both in and out of the chamber, will the Lord's Prayer actually be their saving grace?
02:26Naila Mohamed for KMTV
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