Kent County Council produced its draft budget for 2026-27 on Thursday evening
Reform UK’s “flagship” local authority has raised council tax by almost four per cent despite pledges to cut taxes before last year’s local elections. Kent County Council (KCC) produced its draft budget for 2026-27 on Thursday evening (January 8), revealing a 3.99 per cent council tax hike.
Reform UK took control of KCC after the local elections in May where it overturned a 30-year Tory majority, winning 57 out of 81 seats. In the run-up to the election, election material from Reform candidates often included statements of intent like: “Reduce waste and cut your taxes.”
The hike is slightly more than one per cent below the Government cap, which has led to opposition councillors to warn of further impacts on key services and overall funding from central Government. In real terms, an average Band D household will see council tax increase by an estimated £67.47 per year.
In a leaked video of a heated virtual meeting last year, KCC leader Linden Kemkaran told her Reform colleagues they needed to keep the council tax increase below five per cent, because they were a “shop window” for what the party could do in Government. In a statement on Thursday, Ms Kemkaran said: “These proposals reflect the real priorities of Kent residents. People took the time to share their views, and we listened.”
She said the council was in a “very serious financial situation” when it came in, saddled with hundreds of millions in debt. She added that the latest budget aimed to “stabilise” the local authority’s finances.
The Liberal Democrat opposition at KCC accused Reform of financial mismanagement and a “total betrayal” of election promises. Its leader, Antony Hook, said: “Reform stood for election promising to make savings and lower the burden on taxpayers.
“Today, that promise has been utterly broken. They are boasting about a nearly four per cent increase instead of five per cent, a difference of just 33p per week for the average Kent family.
“It’s a poor outcome given the hype and promises made at the election and for the last nine months.” Other KCC leaders have also argued that putting council tax up by less than the five per cent allowed by central Government could lead to a lower grant in future from Westminster.
“For every one per cent of council tax that you reduce it costs you on paper £10 million,” said Harry Rayner, Conservative group leader at KCC. “Now it doesn’t stop there; the Government have the option in those circumstances to reduce the amount they give you in grant money by the same amount again, another £10m.
“So actually in order to save £10m, you end up losing £20m.” Ms Kemkaran has said that the 3.99% increase has been achieved “while protecting frontline services”.
She added: “In fact, many services will see increased spending because of the difference they make to people’s lives.” The draft budget proposals were published yesterday to be considered at a series of meetings through January.
KCC will determine its final budget and council tax charge on February 12 at a full council meeting.
