By Local Democracy Reporter Simon Finlay
Linden Kemkaran has been named as the new Reform UK leader of Kent County Council (KCC) – elected one week after the party swept all aside to win an emphatic victory.
Straight-talking Cllr Kemkaran, who lives in Headcorn and is the newly-elected member for the Maidstone South East division, was voted at a special meeting at County Hall Maidstone this evening.
She said: “You have to understand that we won a massive majority and we have absolute, ultimate control.”
The new leader vowed to remove the Ukraine flag from the chamber, open the council’s books to auditors – up to now KCC has been audited by its own internal team as well as by external auditors by Grant Thornton – and review working practices across the authority.
Cllr Kemkaran beat a field of six candidates who included Maxine Fothergill, Paul Thomas and Brian Collins.
After the result, she was whisked away to meet the KCC chief executive Amanda Beer and general counsel Ben Watts.
Later she emerged and said: “This is my first day in a brand new job and you wouldn’t expect me to have all the answers.
“We are going to get the auditors to come in and take a leaf out of Elon Musk’s book and appoint some sort of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) to go through everything in detail and find out where the money is being spent and whether we can make any changes and make life better for the residents.”
On Reform UK’s proposed end to working from home, said: “We are going to look at every aspect of how every person works inside this building but I am not ruling anything in or out at this moment.”
On the removal of a Ukrainian flag in the chamber, she said: “We are here to represent the people of Kent. This is Kent County Council…a foreign war being fought thousands of miles away is simply a distraction.”
Cllr Kemkaran said Ukrainians are “amazing people” who have made a contribution to British society “but a flag doesn’t change any of that”.
The new leader said that she would spend the weekend considering who will make up her cabinet.
Although members were forbidden from speaking to the Press, one councillor said: “She’s definitely the best person for the job and she was the best of a pretty strong field of candidates. She was the best choice.”
On May 1, Reform UK captured 57 of the 81 seats at County Hall, reducing the Conservatives from the party of office to just five members in the chamber and joint third overall with the Green Party.
It ended an uninterrupted 28 years in power but the result was broadly similar to other parts of the country where the Tories also suffered huge losses.
The Liberal Democrats, with 12 councillors and led by Cllr Antony Hook, are now the official opposition at County Hall.
The front runner to become the group leader of the Conservatives at KCC, Cllr Harry Rayner, said earlier today: “I do genuinely wish Reform all the best in the new administration.
“But the reality is that running a council with a turnover of £2bn has to be faced by newly-elected people with little experience of running an authority of this size.”
The new council will have to deal with the immediate task of replacing chief executive Amanda Beer who retires in November.
The new leader will also have to navigate the council’s passage through the government’s local government reforms.
This will entail scrapping all 14 councils in Kent – including KCC itself – before re-emerging as three, possibly four, much larger unitary authorities.
The government claims this will make local government more efficient, streamline services and drive down costs. As yet, there is no sign of when that is likely to take place or if Kent will get an elected mayor.
Council leaders are awaiting further details from the local government minister Jim McMahon as to how the new look Kent councils might look.
Some council insiders believe the government’s direction of travel is to have a smaller number of new unitary authorities.
Sounds good to me.
Well done Reform UK. It’s a tough and long haul and hope it works out for the people of Kent.
That’s how I feel. I didn’t vote for them, but I’m not going to put them down before they’ve even started, and just want what’s best for Kent.
Good to see that she’s made a start.
But I wonder: how does binning the Ukranian flag, sending in the auditors and making veiled threats against council employees actually get potholes filled, teachers in classrooms and police on the streets?
Sending in auditors and getting rid of useless staff could save us a lot of money, which could then be spent on other things like those you list.
Surely even you can work that one out, Andrew?
Peter – Andrew has no chance of working that out!
What exactly does “the party swept all aside” mean?
I think it means “the party swept all aside”.
I might be wrong though.
The Ukrainian flag flying, is not hurting anyone, it might upset the odd Russian or two, it shows support for the people suffering under the constant threat from Russia please leave it flying.
The people have spoken.
The locals in my new local The Crown are over the moon.
I am sure that they are when you look at the type of person that drinks in there.
Snob.
Not a snob Peter, I have been in there (once)
I don’t even know where it (presumably Ramsgate).
Now the fun will start.
I am sure there are some pockets of ‘waste’ there always is, but vast amounts of waste and fraudulent highways contracts, I beg to differ.
It’s going to be a long hard,steep learning curve for them and the dear leader won’t be able to help them balance the budget.
As for giving them a fair chance, well how about the same forbearance as they gave the current government, which I think was about a week.
Some people have spoken but they may sing a different tune,if the big promises made by Reform are not kept, even those moonies at the Crown may not be cock a hoop for very long. People are fickle and have a short strand of patience nowadays.
The Turnout in Thanet was 31.94%, which means over two thirds of the electorate didn’t vote for Reform! If the same percentage applies in Kent, then it means most Conservative, and Labour voters sat on their hands, and didn’t vote for Reform! This is how Hitler was elected! He won 40% of the vote in 1932, and the opposition either didn’t vote, or were split! Trump only won 1.5% of the Turnout of 63.9% more than Harris, boiled down that means only 31.8% of the Turnout voted for him, but look at the carnage he has created, not just in the USA but world wide! My guess is unless Labour and Conservative voters have their confidence re-instated by their leaders, then Reform will always win, despite two thirds of the electorate not voting for them! Time to change the electoral system, and bring in Proportional Representation! Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all elect their Assemblies using a form of PR so why can’t the English, and Great Britain?
One suspects that many of the commentators on here are amongst those who didn’t vote.
nobody cares about your flag hate or Elon musk larping, please just fix the pot holes
Oh dear!
One would suspect wrongly PC.If you voted Green as you stated, then you must be concerned at the climate change scepticism emanating from Reform, ie ‘stupid net zero’, but I will leave that with you.
Yes KCC should buy 51 shovels,51 wheel barrows, 51 brooms, and a quantity of tarmac and then some potholes will be filled.
I didn’t vote for Green specifically because of their Climate Change stance, more as by-product, i.e. encouraging cycling, walking and public transport use.
The current local audit framework was established by the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. This allows for external auditors to carry out Public Interest Reports (PIRS). Therefore ‘sending in the auditors’ is nothing actually new but I suppose it goes down well in Wetherspoons
Climate change is at the heart of the greens policy making,I fail to understand how you can vote for them, on the basis of climate change being a by product.
As for an audit, all that will do is check that KCC correctly accounts for the assets in its possession. In other words the audit will check that income and expenditure is correctly recorded and the balances are actually there.
It won’t make value judgements on notional waste,neither will help to balance the budget.
I watched an interview with Ms Kamkoran on BBC SE news.
It’s clear that her preparedness for and grasp of county council business is zero.
But she has thought long and carefully about banning flags and sending thr auditors in.
I think we should wait and see how Ms Kemerakan and Reform operate in the coming months.Reform mostly consists of recycled tories,so not new, nor without baggage.Even in good times they might struggle, with KCC in difficulties the odds are against them,but who knows.
Vowing to “ remove the Ukraine flag from the chamber” what is the point of that? Hardly seems like a pressing issue. In a week when we are celebrating VE Day, the most ultra-right-wing party takes office. The irony. Much in common with Mosley me thinks
Perhaps because it’s just tokenism? I doubt if the council offices of the ’30s flew French or Dutch flags to show “support” for these countries. Instead, we sent in troops.
You mean 1940.With the Dutch it was too late. With the French and Belgians it was to no avail.
There are some in Reform who have expressed the view that we should have cut a deal with Hitler. Maybe that Reform is not the BUF, but their slogan of Family Country and Community is similar to Vichy’s travail,patrie and famille.
As a green voter why are you concerned with preserving the good name of Reform?
Just because I vote for one party, doesn’t mean I reject everything another party says and does.
Really! But they are opposites in this case it is a discrete offer, not a smorgasbord of options.
Either you are being economical with the truth or you are ill informed, which is it?
Ultra right wing? Have a day off, pop’s and not in common with Oswald Moseley at all. Ridiculous comment
A GOV.UK factsheet on “UK support to Ukraine” is available online.
Doesn’t she know that her grifter leaders orange pal in the US is friend with Ukraine at the moment, due to them putting some money his way?