Latest news with #Kemkaran
ITV News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
New Reform-led Kent County Council will remove Pride and Ukrainian flags
ITV Meridian's political correspondent Kit Bradshaw has been speaking to the new leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran. A Reform-run county council will not fly a Pride flag this summer and will remove the Ukrainian flag from the chamber, the new council leader confirmed. At the beginning of May, Reform swept to a local elections victory in Kent taking 57 of 81 council seats, wiping out a Conservative majority which had stood for almost 30 years. On Thursday, councillors heard from the new leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran, at their annual general meeting at County Hall in Maidstone, Kent. Ms Kemkaran, Kent's Reform leader, told the chamber her new administration had little time for 'special interest groups' or the flags that represent them. 'The Union Jack, the flag of St George and the flag of Kent, they are the identity that we all share and it is that identity that we need to focus on,' she said. Her words were met with raucous applause and table thumping from the Reform benches, likened to a 'political rally' by the council's opposition leader, Liberal Democrat Antony Hook. 'We are here to unite not divide and that's why we don't have much time for special interest groups and flags that represent special interest groups,' added Ms Kemkaran. The new Kent County Council leader also told the chamber she was looking to create a department of government efficiency (Doge) to root out problems in the council. Opposition leader Mr Hook voiced fears that the Reform administration would be taking instructions from the national leaders of Reform UK. L Outside the chamber, he said: 'It was really shocking to me that in a recent podcast the leader of Reform said that she had to sort of take instructions from Reform's national chairman. 'That's the sort of thing we've never heard at Kent County Council before. Under different administrations it's always been clear that policy is made in Kent by county councillors not taking instructions from national parties.' Concerns were also raised by opposition councillors about the future of environmental initiatives across the county. Before the meeting, Ms Kemkaran said: 'My focus will be on examining every single so-called net zero initiative and seeing whether it does really offer value for money or any benefits for the residents of Kent and if we find that it doesn't then it will be scrapped.' The new Reform-led council is yet to announce which committees are to be kept from previous Conservative administrations. Ms Kemkaran warned against 'knee-jerk' reactions in her first speech to the chamber. 'The people of Kent turned out in their thousands to vote for us because they didn't want the same old people doing the same old things and achieving the same old results,' Ms Kemkaran said. Labour Councillor and campaigner Maureen Cleator Mr Hook commented on the atmosphere within the chamber. He said: 'Today was really strange, there were constant rounds of applause, there was table thumping. I've never seen that in a county council chamber before. 'Reform were acting like they were at a political rally rather than the first meeting of an authority that's here to do important work.' Labour Councillor and campaigner Maureen Cleator said: 'I was an Army wife. "My son goes over to Ukraine to offer support and training as a veteran and I don't think people understand what's going on there. "And to be quite honest, if the most we do is fly a flag to show solidarity, then what's wrong with that.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform UK councillors select new leader in Kent
Reform UK has chosen the next leader of Kent County Council (KCC). Maidstone South East representative Linden Kemkaran was picked by the party's councillors on Thursday from six potential candidates. Kemkaran said she would be looking at ways to save money at the authority, calling council tax "a massive bill". She also said she saw having a Ukrainian flag in the council chamber as a "distraction". "We need to get our backyard in order before we look at foreign wars in countries thousands of miles away," she told the BBC. "If I need to remove a flag to refocus our council on what it's there to do then that's what I will do." The party previously clarified its position on which flags would be flown outside and inside council buildings after a row over the flying of Lancashire's red rose flag. Kemkaran said she "loved" the idea of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)-type office, based on Elon Musk's cost-cutting drive to cut US government spending. She said: "It's my job to come in and appoint someone to look at how the council can do things, I want to save money and do things better." The party saw 57 new councillors elected on 2 May, when the Conservatives' previous 57 councillors were reduced to just five. All 72 electoral divisions across the county were up for election, equating to 81 councillors in total on 1 May. The Conservatives had held control of the council for 28 years. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the outcome at the time as a "remarkable result". All 57 Reform UK councillors were believed to have met at County Hall in Maidstone for the meeting on Thursday. Reform UK inherited not only a council teetering on the edge of bankruptcy but will have to dismantle it entirely to make way for local government reform while providing all the statutory services, such as the costly adult social care. The Conservatives, whose polling performance was described by its defeated leader Roger Gough as "apocalyptic", have yet to elect a group leader. Malling West member, Harry Rayner, is thought to be the favourite, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). Rayner told the LDRS before the meeting: "I do genuinely wish Reform all the best in the new administration. "But the reality is that running a council with a turnover of £2bn has to be faced by newly elected people with little experience of running an authority of this size." The Liberal Democrats, with 12 members, are now the official opposition. Lib Dem leader Antony Hook said the "very important" recruitment of a new chief executive would start in the summer, with the incumbent Amanda Beer stepping down in November. "It will be interesting to see who will apply for the job now that Reform is in charge," he said before the meeting. A Reform UK spokesman said it would be a "fair and robust process" to find the right person to lead KCC. A KCC spokesperson said Ms Beer had "for some time" intended to retire in November. They added: "The recruitment process for a replacement will continue later this month following discussions with the leader of the new administration." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Reform wins control in Kent after Tory wipeout Councils disappointed at not making devolution list Reform hails 'new dawn' at Kent County Council Local Democracy Reporting Service Kent County Council
