Reform UK's flagship local authority is confronting a severe financial crisis, with a leaked forecast revealing a £60 million gap in its budget for the 2026-27 financial year. This shortfall persists even if the council implements the maximum allowable council tax increase.
A Promise Meets Fiscal Reality
Kent County Council (KCC) was taken over by Reform in the local elections of May 2025, with candidates campaigning on pledges to cut spending and keep taxes low. However, the administration's first budget forecast paints a starkly different picture. The £60 million unresolved gap is a significant increase from the £20.1 million shortfall projected in plans left by the previous Conservative administration.
To merely keep the deficit at £60 million, the current plan includes a full 5% rise in council tax. For a Band D property in Kent, this would mean an annual increase of £84.56, taking the bill from £1,691.19 to £1,775.75. The situation may worsen, with former Reform councillor Bill Barrett warning in a full council meeting on Thursday 18 December 2025 that the gap could swell to £100 million in the new year.
Spending Pressures and Service Fears
The financial strain is driven largely by escalating costs, particularly in adult social care. Even if an expected 8% increase in overall funding from the government's fair funding review—cited by KCC leader Linden Kemkaran—plugs the immediate gap, Reform's proposed expenditure for 2026-27 is still £31 million higher than the previous Tory administration had planned.
Concerns are mounting over potential cuts to vital services. Labour MP for Dartford, Jim Dickson, revealed that providers of certain adult social care services, including "navigation and wellbeing" support for vulnerable adults, have been told their funding will be "hugely cut" in three months. A study by Involve, which provides such care, found it leads to "significant reductions" in A&E attendance and acute care needs. "Kent are obviously claiming that this is an efficiency... but that’s quite clearly wrong," Mr Dickson said.
Opposition Frustration and a Looming Deadline
At Sessions House in Maidstone, opposition leaders expressed clear frustration over the delayed publication of a draft budget. Liberal Democrat councillor Antony Hook, leader of the opposition, described the fair funding review as a "sticking plaster on a gaping wound." He warned, "In the absence of a budget, everything is in danger... from a Reform administration that doesn’t value our public services."
The leaked slideshow, prepared for opposition councillors, represents one option for the Reform administration. They are now expected to present their draft budget in early January 2026. This will then undergo scrutiny in various meetings before the council is scheduled to determine the final budget on 12 February 2026.
Bill Barrett summarised the deepening concern: "I have extreme concern about the way the budget process is unfolding, and the likelihood of severe cuts to public services because of the budget gap KCC is now faced with." KCC and the Reform group have been contacted for comment.
