Catch up on all the latest political news from across Kent with Abby Hook, joined live by Gabriel Morris and Ollie Leader to discuss the local elections taking place across the county.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the Kent Politics Show,
00:28live on KMTV, the show that gets Kent's politicians talking, especially today.
00:34I'm Abbey Hook and you're joining us for a moment that will go down as a seismic shift
00:39in Kent's political history, painting the county in a lighter shade of blue.
00:44Reform UK has taken full control of Kent County Council with a huge 55 seats.
00:51The Conservatives haven't budged since 1997, but after three decades of control,
00:56they'll come away with just five seats so far.
01:01This evening we'll be analysing what this means for Kent and bringing you reaction
01:05from across the political spectrum.
01:07We've got Gabriel Morris just outside of Sevenoaks.
01:10He's been speaking to former leader of KCC Roger Gough,
01:13who described the situation earlier on as apocalyptic.
01:17And we've got Olly Leda over in Maidstone to get reaction from the Liberal Democrats,
01:22who gained more seats in the Tories so far, and from the Green Party,
01:26who have made historic national gains too.
01:29But let's go to local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris first now.
01:34Gabriel, is this what we expected to happen?
01:38This is completely unprecedented, quite frankly, Abby.
01:44We've been making predictions on the programme,
01:45and if you remember from the Kent Morning Show,
01:47I did say the most likely scenario for a majority would be Reform UK.
01:52We knew they would do well.
01:55This well, I don't think anyone expected it.
01:59I'm stood right now in a Conservative stronghold.
02:01It's Otford.
02:02This has almost always been Conservative.
02:06And certainly when it comes to the general election,
02:09the constituency level, the MPs have always been Conservative here.
02:12But that seems no more.
02:13Opinion has certainly changed today, and it's not just here.
02:17It's in every single corner of Kent.
02:19Reform getting a clear majority.
02:21They needed 41, but they look like they're going to get somewhere
02:24between 55 and 56, 57 seats by the end of today.
02:30Now, this was definitely an option, but being the new kids on the block,
02:34I don't think anyone expected this.
02:36And certainly a Reform winning in this seat here,
02:40which is where Roger Gough, the last leader,
02:43the Conservative leader at Kent County Council,
02:45is in control of or was in control of.
02:47I don't think he expected that, and I spoke to him earlier today.
02:51When we saw some of the results in Staffordshire and Lincolnshire and so on,
02:55that was very, very clear that it was going to be not just a bad,
03:01but a disastrous day for the Conservatives.
03:03And so it has played out, and I think the party's obviously got to reflect on that.
03:07Can Conservatives bring it back at the next elections for those unitaries?
03:11Things can turn around quickly, but I think we would be foolish
03:14to think that that won't, or I think that will happen,
03:18without significant self-examination, a big process of change,
03:25and addressing the big issues in such a way that voters see us once more
03:31as a proposition that they can entertain and ultimately support.
03:36Well, Gabriel, the question on everybody's minds now,
03:40what will a Reform council actually look like?
03:43What can we expect to change?
03:48Well, they've been banging on, on their leaflets, on their campaign buss,
03:51about some big national policies,
03:53and this has been highlighted by many other opposition parties saying,
03:57well, that's not what Kent County Council does,
03:59and we'll have more on that later on in the programme
04:02about why Reform have been campaigning on that and some of the concerns.
04:06But one of their big campaigns and one of their big promises
04:09is they're going to make Kent County Council more efficient.
04:12Nigel Farage told me a month ago when he visited Kent
04:15that he wants to bring Doge Trump-style politics to Kent County Council.
04:20Now, that could be cutting back on maybe staff,
04:24on perhaps maybe making things more efficient, they say.
04:28What will that look like, though, for different services?
04:31Kent County Council old leader Roger Goff, the Conservatives,
04:34where he said, well, hold on a minute, Reform,
04:35we've tried to do that.
04:37What are you going to find?
04:38And quite frankly, what are they going to find?
04:41What is that going to be?
04:43Now, one of the biggest issues we often hear from parents across Kent
04:46is children with special educational needs,
04:48and I have spoken to some in the lead-up to this election,
04:50and quite frankly, they are quite worried about what Reform could do.
04:54Children have access to high-needs funding
04:56alongside homeschool transport in some instances.
05:00They're worried, could they lose this under the Doge-style politics?
05:03Well, I've been speaking to the current Kent Reform leader, Dirk Ross,
05:07a little bit about this and what that might mean for parents.
05:11Gabriel, just before we hear from him, we're all ears peeled too,
05:15but also the counting has completed.
05:18To bring you some of the final details,
05:20we should have them in the bottom of the screen as well for you.
05:23So, 57 to Reform UK, 12 to the Liberal Democrats,
05:295 to the Conservatives, 5 to the Greens, 2 to Labour,
05:340 for Independent, 0 for the Residents Association.
05:38So, that's the latest just in.
05:40The counting has complete in the Kent County Council elections.
05:44Reform 57.
05:46Gabriel, just a very quick response from that from you.
05:49Well, that number there is about, for the Conservatives,
05:53is about 8% of what they won in 2021.
05:56Opinions completely changed.
05:57We've even seen Reform taking seats off Labour today.
06:01Labour won the general election last year.
06:03They triumphed in Kent, turning so many seats red.
06:07This time last year, or after that general election,
06:09we would have thought it would have been a very different picture today,
06:12seats going red.
06:13Instead, they've gone light blue.
06:15Shall we get that Dirk Ross clip now
06:16and let's see what he has to say about those SEND cuts
06:19and his main priorities
06:19when he enters Kent County Council in the coming days.
06:24No, but there's a lot of money there,
06:25but it's spent not always in the right way.
06:28We've got, obviously, we have to look at all children
06:30because the pot is for all children.
06:32It's not just this is special needs,
06:34this is, say, a regular school.
06:36The funding comes from the same pot
06:37and we've got to make sure that we've got outcomes
06:39and we want children to integrate
06:41and many are in regular state schools,
06:44some if it really is a specialist need.
06:45And it's to make sure to get the best outcome.
06:47But we've obviously got to spend the money wisely
06:49to, you know, look at the contracts
06:51because there are some shocking figures of money
06:54that you're spending and thinking,
06:55right, we've been held over a barrel by private providers
06:57and we have a legal obligation to pay.
07:00So actually, you're paying a higher amount
07:01because they know that you've got no other choice.
07:03Do your parents need to be worried
07:04that they could be losing, you mean,
07:05high needs funding in the home to school transport?
07:07No, they just need to be concerned
07:08that we want to get the backlog fixed.
07:10We want to get, obviously,
07:11we're now having to deal with many parents
07:15that, you know, not on tons of money
07:16that were in private schools
07:17because the council council or academies
07:20weren't able to provide the education
07:22their child needs
07:23and now can't afford the tax
07:25that's been put on them by Labour
07:26and now coming back into the state sector,
07:29obviously, we've got to look at place numbers.
07:31We don't know how many are going to come across.
07:33So we've got a whole dynamic of, right,
07:34for this term coming up in September,
07:37a lot of work around transport,
07:39where the child needs to be,
07:41costings, is it the right at this school,
07:43the distance, because obviously some of the things,
07:45they're coming part of the way through the term
07:47where some of the things
07:48have already been planned in already.
07:49So we want, you know,
07:51this is an urgent matter
07:52that's got to be dealt with really quickly
07:54and not just put on the back burner
07:56like the EHCPs.
07:57We've got to really, this is a big issue
07:59and it's got to be dealt with over the summer.
08:01What is Reform UK's priorities
08:03for when you enter King County Council?
08:04It's to go through the books
08:06because we've got money,
08:07all of us have got, you know,
08:08massive contracts for potholes,
08:10yet we've got 58,000 and they're getting worse.
08:12We've got social care issues, disability issues,
08:15we've got transport,
08:16we've got a whole myriad of things.
08:18Money's been spent,
08:20it's not been spent effectively.
08:21We want to know and look at every contract,
08:23social care contract, children's contracts,
08:25because they're roughly two-thirds
08:26of the taxpayer's money.
08:28So Reform will be taking over
08:33King County Council
08:34and this is all the parties
08:35they've been talking about
08:36during this election campaign.
08:38They've frankly been so scared of them.
08:40Today they've even been telling me
08:42they are inexperienced councillors.
08:44Reform say, well, hold on a minute,
08:46a fresh blood will be good
08:47for King County Council.
08:48The other thing they've been saying
08:49is they've been talking about national politics
08:52and their campaign has been misleading.
08:54Let's take a look at this.
08:55One issue has dominated this campaign
09:00and it's not potholes, adult social care
09:02or children with special educational needs.
09:05In fact, it's not any of the services
09:08Kent County Council actually runs.
09:11When parties speak to the media,
09:13they often steer the conversation
09:14towards one thing,
09:16the threat posed by Reform UK.
09:19We believe we have a strong record
09:21that we've seen Kent through
09:22really difficult times
09:24and that this is not the time
09:26to trust the really important affairs
09:28of the County Council
09:29to people who simply rely on slogans.
09:32Is that Reform UK?
09:33You may judge that,
09:35but I couldn't possibly comment.
09:36Nigel Farage has visited Kent twice
09:39during the campaign,
09:40stopping in all corners of the county.
09:42Some political groups have criticised
09:44Reform UK's campaign,
09:46calling it misleading,
09:48saying their slogans focus on issues
09:50the County Council doesn't even control.
09:53Who have just put absolute nonsense
09:55on their leaflets,
09:56things that can't be delivered by KCC
09:58and they've just basically
09:59been misleading people.
10:00What sort of things have they been
10:01putting on their leaflets,
10:02have you seen?
10:03Stopping the boats.
10:04Obviously that's government policy
10:06where the Labour government's
10:08working with France,
10:09not Rwanda,
10:09which is the sensible thing to do,
10:11but a civilised society
10:13just runs on structured immigration,
10:16which should be happening.
10:18They've been putting on things
10:19about planning,
10:20planning issues,
10:21which are districts.
10:22We put that criticism
10:23to Reform UK's current Kent leader.
10:26He defended the campaign
10:28without hesitation.
10:29The migrant issue does have an impact
10:31because we've got people stuck
10:32in bad housing,
10:34socially, mould,
10:35and yet other people are coming in
10:37and getting facilities
10:38and treatment,
10:40money,
10:40and there is a disconnect.
10:41People feel there's an unfairness
10:42that we've got a lot of people
10:43really suffering
10:44and they really are
10:46having a dreadful time
10:47and then seeing the opposite
10:48where money seems to be coming
10:50from nowhere
10:51to fund services,
10:52thinking that, you know,
10:53this is not fairness,
10:53this is not good for our own citizens.
10:56Reform UK has quickly made
10:58its presence felt across Kent.
11:00Before the elections,
11:01they held just three councillors,
11:03but after a string of by-election wins
11:06and as counting got underway
11:07this afternoon,
11:09their growing success became clear.
11:11Well, Gabriel,
11:14thank you very much
11:15for your coverage
11:16and reports as well.
11:18We'll have that interview
11:19with the former leader,
11:20Roger Goff,
11:21a bit later in the programme,
11:23but very important to see
11:24what reform will be doing now.
11:26Gabriel, thank you very much.
11:28I know you'll be hot on the analysis
11:29for the next coming weeks as well.
11:31Just before we take a break,
11:33when we come back,
11:34we will be having Olly Leder
11:35joining us on the programme.
11:37He's live from Maidstone.
11:39He'll be giving us more analysis
11:40from the impact
11:42of these elections as well.
11:44But just before we go,
11:45to tally up,
11:46the final results are in
11:4757 seats to reform
11:50in the Kent County Council
11:51elections for 2025.
11:53See you in a minute.
12:10We'll see you in a minute.
19:20I think it's very interesting you mentioned the opposition benches, Abby, because they're going to look very, very different.
19:28For the last hour, I've seen familiar faces from parties filtering in, collecting their belongings, clearing out their offices.
19:38Big KCC heavy hitters, figures like Peter Oakford, the finance man for the Conservative administration,
19:46ousted today alongside figures such as Roger Goff, it's going to be a very, very different KCC.
19:53And one where, strangely, there's a little Democrats in official opposition against reform.
20:00And even stranger, perhaps, the Green Party on level footing with the Conservatives with five councillors apiece.
20:08And I spoke to one of those Green councillors, Rich Lehman.
20:13They were perhaps hoping for slightly better.
20:16We were expecting the leader of the Green Party, one of the co-leaders, to be here today.
20:22And they never materialised, perhaps because it only managed to secure five councillors.
20:27But he says it was a good day for the Green Party.
20:31They haven't really lost anything they won in 2021.
20:36And here's a clip of him talking about what he thinks the election really signifies here in Kent.
20:41That's a very good question.
20:43I mean, it's been changing throughout the day.
20:47I, you know, I was delighted to hold my seat.
20:50And when I did, I suspected that we might see a lot more Green councillors across Kent coming on board.
20:56But it's just been a tidal wave of reform.
21:00And I can understand why that is.
21:03I've been talking to people on the doorstep over the last couple of weeks, people who were let down by the Conservatives up until last year's general election now feel let down by Labour because Labour have not proved to be the solution that they hoped when they voted for Labour last year.
21:20I think it's a major sea change for KCC because the Greens did better than they did a few years ago, up four on 2021 and Liberal Democrats up five.
21:45They now have 12 councillors in play.
21:49Obviously, we do have quite a sizable reform UK majority, 57 seats.
21:57They have never ran in this capacity before at KCC.
22:04And it's going to be very different for Labour as well.
22:07They were the opposition party.
22:10Now they just have two solitary councillors on the benches.
22:13There's not a single independent in sight as well.
22:19And the Liberal Democrats will probably be quite happy.
22:21They've been putting a lot of energy into campaigning in Kent.
22:26Their deputy leader came down.
22:28Ed Davey hitting the campaign trail this week as well in the lead up to polling day.
22:34So it really was a big person over the line to replicate some of those results from Tunbridge Wells last year.
22:40But the Liberal Democrats did quite well.
22:43And we spoke to Richard Streetfield, one of the key Liberal Democrat councillors in the group, about what he thinks is the future for Liberal Democrats here in the county.
22:53Generally, it's an incredible picture of reform sweeping away the Conservative administration.
23:00And we'll have to form a new administration that will lead the county into devolution and to keep it afloat for the next four years.
23:08It's an absolute political earthquake.
23:09You can, the leader of the council described it as an apocalypse for his party.
23:16And indeed it is.
23:18It looks as though the Liberal Democrats will form an official opposition and we will do our utmost to hold reform to account.
23:26Because what we can see from their campaign literature is that they have no idea about how to run a county council.
23:32They've campaigned on national issues and now they've got to do the hard yards for the people of Kent.
23:37And Oli, many people will be watching at home saying, I'm not seeing a lot of red on the telly today.
23:46Where is Labour in all of this?
23:48After all, they do run our government up in Westminster.
23:51Of course, it's a different story locally.
23:54But why is that?
23:55They're just not around as much.
23:57You said, where are Labour, Abby?
24:00One answer, Canterbury.
24:02That's where their big stronghold has always been here in Kent in recent years.
24:08They've managed to cling on in a circle of Liberal Democrat support.
24:13It's quite interesting how the geography of Kent has fractured some of the parties.
24:20The Greens have strong footing in Whitstable and in parts of Swale.
24:25Labour clinging on in Canterbury.
24:27But reform really dominating every stretch of the county from Folkestone all the way to Dartford and Gravesham.
24:35You can't escape the turquoise tidal wave.
24:37And the Conservatives very much scattered around in the west of the county.
24:45It is quite an interesting situation, one we've never seen before at KCC.
24:51A party like reform taking control is unprecedented.
24:55What it means for local policies and local people really remains up for debate.
25:01And Oli, I imagine you'll be covering all the reaction in the coming days and weeks as well.
25:08Oli, leader in Mainstone outside County Hall, now turning turquoise.
25:12Thank you very much for joining us, Oli.
25:14All right.
25:15Now we've talked the local picture.
25:18Let's get a very quick summary before we go this evening of that national picture and where Kent plays its role in that.
25:23Bartholomew joins me in the studio now.
25:24What's it looking like?
25:26Well, Kent seems to be following the national trend.
25:28You said there that County Hall has turned turquoise and it's not the only one.
25:32Reform UK has gained seven councils from previously, being quite a young party, coming out of the blue, if you like.
25:39Not having any overall control of any councils in its history.
25:43Now being in charge of seven local authorities across the country, responsible for bin services, libraries, schools, you name it.
25:51All the things that we rely on our local council for.
25:54This party now has a lot of responsibility resting on its shoulders.
25:59The Liberal Democrats have also gained, and we look in terms of seats, they've gained 129 seats.
26:04They're actually on course to have more seats than the Conservatives, who have lost so far 553 seats nationally.
26:11We look at other parties as well.
26:15Labour, major losses, 159 seats nationwide lost by them.
26:20Some saying now that this could be the end of the two-party system, but we won't know how these votes today,
26:27how these results turn into a, you know, how they transform, how they translate into Parliament,
26:33because we have to wait a few more years before we have a general election.
26:36But in terms of our local policies and our local power shift, we've seen a big one today.
26:41All right, Bartholomew, thank you very much.
26:44And to Oli, Leda and Gabriel Morris at various counts for us today as well.
26:50It's been a monumental day for local politics here in Kent.
26:53That's all from us. We'll see you at 7.30 for Kent Tonight.
26:55Let's go to Oli, Leda and Gabriel Morris, who's from Australia in South Barcelona.
27:04Let's go to Oli Oli.
27:08Thanks for driving!
27:10And Green is coming.