The Labour MP for East Thanet says she is ‘absolutely furious’ to discover Thanet received just 2.3% of Kent County Council bus subsidies last year.
The figures – obtained through a Freedom of Information request by Labour’s Thanet District Councillor David Green – show that the isle received the lowest bus subsidy of any of Kent’s districts.
Thanet received £555,000 in 2025, equalling 2.3% of total Kent bus subsidies of £24.2 million.
The MP says this is compared to “wealthy Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells” which each received more than £3 million and “affluent Sevenoaks” receiving £4 million.
The next lowest-subsidised Kent districts after Thanet (Canterbury and Dartford) received more than £1 million each.
‘LB’ – KCC’s traditional budget for the support of Local Buses
‘KTS’ – services funded through the KCC Travel Saver (student bus pass) scheme
‘BSIP+ – services funded using Government Bus Service Improvement Plan funding
Four routes in Thanet received subsidies from KCC – the lowest number in Kent – compared to 36 in Sevenoaks and 35 in Tonbridge & Malling. However, there are considerable differences in size between the areas with Thanet covering approximately 40 square miles, Sevenoaks 143 square miles and Tonbridge & Malling covering around 92 square miles. Tunbridge Wells spans around 128 square miles.
The routes subsidised in Thanet are the 35/37 Westgate to Margate bus from Regent and Stagecoach’s 11 route from Canterbury to Westwood Cross; 36 Jerne Bay to Margate and 48/48A Ramsgate to Birchington.
Polly Billington MP says that on average, Kent’s five most deprived districts (Thanet, Swale, Folkestone & Hythe, Dover, and Gravesham) received £1,336,712 in bus subsidies, half (52%) the average £2,587,231 received by Kent’s five wealthiest areas (Maidstone, Dartford, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, and Tonbridge & Malling).
Thanet is the 26th most deprived district area in England, while Tonbridge & Malling is the 63rd least deprived.
Ms Billington said the figures showed “the Reform UK administration in Kent had failed to have any impact on the neglect of Kent’s coastal areas in favour of its upmarket towns.”
The Labour government recently awarded Kent more than £70 million, made up of £42m to improve bus services with the rest in capital funding for infrastructure, to cover 2026-2029, but the East Thanet MP said the money would mean nothing to Thanet if KCC divert it to the wealthiest areas.
The MP said: “I am absolutely furious at what these shocking figures show — that the dire state of Thanet’s bus services is not inevitable, but the result of deliberate political choices by Kent County Council.
“How can it be fair that affluent areas like Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells scooped up millions in bus subsidies last year, while Thanet’s struggling communities were left with a pitiful half a million and change?
“Reform promised they would be different in Kent, yet every time I raise the collapse of Thanet’s bus services, I hear exactly the same excuses as when the Tories were in charge.
“These figures blow those excuses out of the water. Reform in Kent must end this bus funding rip-off and ensure Thanet gets its fair share of the government’s new funding for local bus services — starting with immediately reinstating the Number 9 to Canterbury.”
Cllr David Green, who represents Nethercourt Ward in Ramsgate on Thanet District Council, said: “Nethercourt residents are fed up with expensive, unreliable bus services. It’s frankly outrageous to discover that while they’ve been left standing at bus stops in the cold, wealthier parts of Kent have been handed millions in subsidies at Thanet’s expense.
“I submitted this Freedom of Information request because I suspected Thanet was being short-changed, but the scale of unfairness is really shocking. Reform UK in Kent must take a long, hard look at themselves and act immediately to restore Ramsgate’s bus services, so my residents finally get the fair deal they deserve.”
‘Significant investment’
A spokesperson from Kent County Council (KCC) said: “Thanet benefits from one of Kent’s most comprehensive and well-used bus networks, which means it requires lower levels of subsidy to maintain services compared to other areas of the county.
“In recent years, Thanet has also received significant investment to improve local transport. This includes £2 million for the Superbus scheme, which introduced additional routes and increased frequency on the popular Thanet Loop. In addition, £1.285 million has been allocated to upgrade bus stops and shelters, substantially more than many other districts and parish councils across Kent.
“Alongside these improvements, residents in Thanet, like those across the county, benefit from the Kent Travel Saver Scheme, which provides vital subsidies to help families ensure their children can travel to school affordably.
“The level of subsidy in each district reflects the cost of maintaining services rather than deprivation levels. Thanet’s strong commercial bus network means services can operate with less financial support from KCC, while other areas require higher subsidies to maintain routes.”
In Parliament
Polly Billington raised the disparity during a debate in Westminster yesterday (January 5) focused on a petition calling for free bus travel for all over 60s.
During that debate she said: “Kent County Council, which commissions the buses in my part of the world, East Thanet, has 7.5 million fewer bus miles now than in 2010. That is 7.5 million fewer opportunities for people to get to work, healthcare appointments or simply go out and have fun—and that reduction did not happen by magic.
“It happened as a result of choices made by the Opposition (Conservative) who probably rarely, if ever, take buses outside London and therefore have little or no experience of the impact of their neglect and obsession with privatisation, which have battered our buses over more than a decade.”
It was resolved that the petition had ‘been considered.’
