Reform UK Outsourcing Oversight of Kent County Council – This Is Not Local Democracy

From Cllr Geoffrey Samme

As your Liberal Democrat County Councillor, I’m deeply concerned by the Reform Party’s latest actions at Kent County Council.

On a Sunday evening at the end of half term, Reform announced that their party officials—not elected councillors—plan to demand wide access to council information. This includes sensitive personal data like education and social care records.

KCC’s financial records are already public. What’s troubling is the attempt to bypass proper procedures while also cancelling the very committee meetings—like the Governance & Audit Committee—meant to ensure transparency.

👉 I was surprised when my training for the Governance & Audit Committee was scheduled—and then suddenly cancelled—last week. That now makes sense. Reform UK appears to be contracting out the oversight of KCC to their national leadership, rather than allowing those recently elected by Kent residents to do their job. That’s a complete rejection of local democratic accountability.

Worse still, they’ve issued threats to KCC’s professional staff. I’ve always found our council officers to be fair, responsive, and respectful of the law. Threatening them is shameful and unacceptable.

And to top it off, major announcements about Kent are now coming from Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf in London—neither of whom hold any elected office in Kent. This makes a mockery of local democracy and makes the new KCC leader look like a puppet.

Kent residents deserve leadership that’s transparent, accountable, and local.

– Geoffrey Samme, Lib Dem County Councillor for Maidstone North East
🟡 Defending democracy and your right to privacy. #KentDeservesBetter #LibDems #KCC