Reform to take over Kent council with new cabinet

Reform UK will officially take over control of Kent County Council on Thursday following its sweeping victory in May's local elections.

Kent party leader Linden Kemkaran will be sworn in as council leader at a meeting in Maidstone's County Hall at 10:00 BST, before going on to appoint the new cabinet.

The meeting will also be the first chance for opposition councillors to ask questions of the new council leader and cabinet.

Reform took 57 out of 81 seats in the Kent County Council (KCC) election at the beginning of May, wiping out the Conservative majority which had stood for nearly 30 years.

Speaking to BBC South East after she was chosen as Reform leader for Kent, Ms Kemkaran said she wanted to try and lessen the impact of illegal migration on the county's residents.

Ms Kemkaran said Reform councillors were seeing what parts of policy related to migration they could control.

"We are looking at what we can do legally to say, no, we do not want to have our hotels and houses of multiple occupancy filled up in Kent," she said.

She inherits a council teetering on the brink of bankruptcy that faces significant challenges in providing key services including adult social care, education and transport.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.