Nigel Farage tells media KCC job cuts might be on the cards.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Major, how does it feel to be back in Kent?
00:15Very good. What a result here. Stunning.
00:18And the real significance of what's happened here isn't just the historic victory we've achieved,
00:24but it is the hollowing out of the Conservative Party right throughout Shire England.
00:29They barely exist anymore, and I think their 200-year history is coming to an end.
00:34Did you expect it to be so good?
00:35No. I mean, I was bullish about it. I thought we'd do well, but just in the last few minutes we've won another council.
00:4357 seats, winning in Sevenoaks, unheard of. This is a Tory stronghold. What on earth has happened? What have you done?
00:51No, it isn't a Tory stronghold. It was a Tory stronghold. And you're going to have to get used to that, all of you in Kent Media.
00:58This is the most seismic change in a day in the politics of this county, and indeed this country, that we've ever, ever seen.
01:07Oh, you get general elections that swing one way and the other, but this is truly extraordinary.
01:12I always thought we'd do well in Kent, but this result is beyond my wildest dreams.
01:16I think it's more than seismic, to be quite honest. But you're going to have a lot of media attention on you now, a lot of scrutiny ahead of the general election whenever that next happens.
01:25Is this what you want? Is this going to be the right thing for reform?
01:27I've lived under scrutiny, more scrutiny, than any other modern day politician for years and years and years. I'm not worried about that.
01:36What I'm determined though, is one of the reasons that we got these votes, is people feel let down by the two other parties, or should I say the union party, because that's how people feel about them.
01:46Lack of delivery, promises broken. What we have got to do, is keep our promises and deliver here in Kent and elsewhere around the country, and that means getting in the auditors, looking at where money is being spent, asking questions about long term contracts that have been signed, and making sure the County Council focuses on its priorities, rather than the DEI agenda and climate change.
02:10Let's go into particulars. What is it particularly you're going to be looking at first? What is going to be your main priority, or reform's main priority at the County Councillors?
02:16Well I would suggest if you think you can work from home, under us you might find yourself having quite a short, sharp conversation. And if you're working in DEI or climate change for the County, then perhaps alternative employment is where you should be looking.
02:29We want to slim down the size of local government, to get it back to the basics, and to make sure that Council taxpayers start to get better value for money.
02:39So job cuts are on the way in?
02:41Well there may well be job cuts in areas like DEI. How many do you think?
02:45Hey, we haven't looked at the books yet, I can't tell you. But we do need slimmed down local government, and we need increased productivity.
02:52Public sector productivity has collapsed since the pandemic.