A Reform UK-run council in Kent has admitted it will likely raise council tax by the maximum 5% next year, despite the party's promises to cut costs. Diane Morton, Reform's cabinet member for adult social care, said services were already 'down to the bare bones' and that the authority needed more money to meet growing demand.
Kent becomes the latest local authority controlled by Nigel Farage's party to signal a tax increase. The leader of West Northamptonshire council said last month that a rise was 'highly likely', while Durham's Reform leader warned of 'stark choices' between tax hikes and service cuts. Staffordshire's Reform leader also said he hoped to reduce a planned 5% rise but could not guarantee it.
Morton's comments are particularly notable because Kent had been piloting a 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) unit, inspired by Elon Musk, to examine spending and cut costs. However, the team led by Reform's head of policy, Zia Yusuf, has reportedly struggled to access sensitive council data.
Labour MP Polly Billington said Reform's leader in Kent had described Reform councils as 'the biggest advert' for a Farage government. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called the looming tax rise a 'spectacular failure' and demanded Yusuf apologise.
Reform UK defended its record, saying its councillors had reduced the authority's debt by £66m in five months through a cost-cutting efficiency team. The party also cited a 'no more borrowing' policy and scrapping a net zero programme to save £32m over four years. However, independent experts at the Institute for Government warned that Reform councils face the same 'brutal arithmetic' as others, and that short-term cuts could store up problems.
