Reform took control on a platform of eliminating waste and undesirable spending. With a budget advertised as £2.6 bn a year serving 1.6 million people it is an important responsibility and a good challenge. Reform implied they could avoid the annual maximum permitted Council tax rises which hit householders.
Reform took over near the start of the 2025-6 financial year, inheriting a budget from their predecessors. They also inherited a forward look budget for the following two years and a capital spending budget of £1419 m over ten years.
They chose not to submit a revised 2025-6 budget. They could have cut spending in year whilst keeping the tax rise, cutting the deficit. For 2026-7 they have put out a Consultation document asking voters for ideas on cuts in spending and on acceptable tax levels without offering a proposal of their own. They are working from their predecessor’s forward look budget. Their draft budget shows a further maximum tax rise and big rise in spending even after the £50 m unspecified cuts they consult on.
The 2025-6 budget they are spending saw a gross increase of £322 m on the 2024-5 total of £3015m. (11%)The cost net of grants and income was £1531 m, an increase of £102m. (7%). Net spending growth of £207 m was brought down by offsetting savings and spending of reserves worth £105 m.
Arguably Councillors should be concerned about the way grants and reserves are spent and how much is spent before just knocking them off the total to fund.They should seek to control gross spend, not just net. 11% increase was surely too high.
The previous Council claimed large efficiency savings and said it offered good value for money by Council standards. 48% of the total spend is on adults and children’s social care with rising demand and rising care costs per person.
I wish all Councils well that are looking for savings, eliminating waste and concentrating resources on essential services. This year saw a maximum permitted Kent increase in Council Tax and the Social care levy approved by the outgoing Council. This year’s Consultation assumes another maximum tax rise and says they still need to find £50 m of spending cuts to live within budget and available funds. When will we know how they will find the £50 m? Will they find more to avoid another maximum tax rise? Have they given up all idea of how to cut spending or even to control the rise?
October 8, 2025
Well known that Kent is being hammered by the channel boat crisis, particularly departments that are dealing with minors.
Less than 6 months after Reform wiping the floor with the Conservatives in this and many other Councils it is a bit rich to try and start calling them out.
October 8, 2025
AJ,
‘ Less than 6 months after Reform wiping the floor with the Conservatives in this and many other Councils it is a bit rich to try and start calling them out.’
Maybe, but that started the day after they got elected- the nineteen year old councillor etc.
Lots of people are putting great hope on Reform being the solution to the mess the country is in.
It may be some time before a general election (if not local elections). More negative press is almost inevitable.
If they are eventually in charge of things there is no guarantee they will be able to make the radical changes their voters are hoping for. Reform may have good intentions but they are nearly all political novices.
Reply This site will be positive about any government or Council that does do a good job in cutting spending and raising service quality. It is not as difficult as most public bodies make it.
October 8, 2025
Indeed and there is certainly a vast amount of waste and spending (much that even does net harm) which could be cut out. At local and national levels.
Jacob Reece-Mogg yesterday on GBNews seemed very keen on a Reform/Tory pact claiming their policies are very similar. Well not really Jacob. It is true Kemi has been driven to finally agree to ditch the ECHR and cut immigration and a touch on the brakes for Net Zero but after 14 years of doing the reverse why would anyone trust them. They will dilute the Trust that Reform now have. May Net Zero obviously needs to be ditched entirely. Yet she was made a Baronet when Kemi was leader. Ed’s 2008(?) Climate Change Act was insane but nearly all MPs voted for it.
Reply The aims of stopping small boats and a big reduction in legal migration are shared by Reform and Conservatives. Their proposals to do this are different. Their approaches to the economy are different with Reform pro more nationalisation and more benefits and Conservatives setting out spending cuts. Both want to cut waste and net zero spending .
October 8, 2025
To reply:- Both SAY they want to cut immigration but one promised “to the tens of thousands” and gave us over 1 million in some years and most of these fairly low skilled too. 14 years of deliberately conning the electorate in four manifestos then deliberately doing the reverse.
Mel Stride in his speech of Labour:- All they have to offer is pessimism. Higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower growth, and a mountain of debt for the next generation – but this is what 14 years of Tories delivered together with a botched Brexit and 400 billion of net harm vaccines and net harm lockdowns – even now they want expensive net zero unreliable energy at 4 times the cost of the US.
Reply We have all agreed many times the last Conservative government failed to deliver on both illegal and legal migration. They now agree and have changed policy. Move on. We do not need to keep going over the past when we all agree. Similarly over Blair’s open borders policy. What matters is current government runaway illegal migration and the various party over what to do about it.
October 8, 2025
Mel also said:
“And to demonstrate that it is our values, Conservative values of sound money, low taxes, entrepreneurship and hard work that can make that happen.
And millions are crying out for this.”
Well yes but you spent 14 years delivering the exact reverse. Currency debasement, ever higher taxes, ever more red tape and rip off net zero lunacy to kill business.
“Just look at what this government is doing.
Constantly pumping up the size of the state.
Increasing spending by £100 billion a year that’s ten times what they said in their manifesto.”
Dire I agree but the Con-Socialist wasted circa £100 billion + on Net Zero, net harm Covid Vaccines and net harm Lockdowns and billions more on open door low skilled immigration too.
October 8, 2025
You and Sir John say a lot of interesting things.
Every Tory should be listening to the likes of Sir John and Heseltine (but not on Europe) and Ken Clarke (but not on Europe – although he seems to have gone a bit quietly recently).
October 8, 2025
Hestletine and Ken Clarke!
I reported Ken Clarke to the Standards and Privileges Committee for taking money from the Bilderberg Group and not declaring it. Very serious because he came home singing from their hymnsheet.
I won! It’s the first official document to acknowledge the existence of the Bilderberg Group. (I can give you the ref number so you can find it in the House Libruary).
Those two destroyed Thatcherism which was UNBEATABLE – I know, I canvassed in South Wales,, even in ‘little Moscow’ and had a surprisingly good reception.
October 8, 2025
In fact I have a hand amended letter from Clarke refuting my claim about the establishment of the single currency at the Bilderberg meeting he attended.
Then it happened, on schedule.
Not a man to admire!
October 9, 2025
@Lynn
I’m not saying Clarke is a saint.
Regarding, Heseltine, like I said before, I don’t support him over Europe. But when it comes to business / the economy, you got to take people like him seriously. He set up his own very successful company and brand that sells here and abroad – and he’s a quarter-of-a-billionaire as a result. All this his own efforts / money.
October 10, 2025
(‘I’m not saying Clarke is a saint’ – well he might be or could be! Not for me to judge. Nor judge anyone)
October 8, 2025
After years of Tory rule it is rather churlish to be holding Reform to account after only a few months in office.
The people of Kent obviously wanted a change and voted for it. Time will tellertjet this was the right decision.
Reform are now in charge of my council and one of the Reform councillors is a friend. He tells me of endless battles trying to get information and the criteria for awarding contracts. He also finds it amazing the number of staff working from home and pinpointing exactly what their jobs are. The previous Tory administration list millions on running a power providing scheme which ultimately went bankrupt costing £17 million. It will take time to unravel these things so let’s give them a chance.
It’s very telling that over this weekend practically every Reform policy has been adopted by Badenough and her dwindling band without any acknowledgement that it was 14 years of Tory incompetence that has got us to where we are today and being made worse by the Marxist shower in Westminster
Change is coming wether we like it or not.
Reply This site is dedicated to better government. I regularly criticised and proposed changes to a Conservative government. As you say Kent voters voted for change. So why hasn’t the Reform Council cut this year’s budget and why is it consulting on next year’s budget based on past Conservative Council plans? I think they can and should do better in line with their promises.
If you send me more details of how your local Reform Council has cut its budgets I would be happy to set out their success if that is genuine. Councillors being fobbed off and not helped by officers is what life is like for Councillors of all parties in badly run Councils.
I did not hear the Conservatives adopting Reform policy this week. Their approach to migration and human rights law is different from and much more detailed than Reform. Their approach to public spending is different, not committing to water and steel nationalisation and to ending the two child benefit cap as Reform has done.
October 8, 2025
@Reply – a “detailed” fairy tale is still a fairy tale – governing Conservatives were full of fine words and promises over the last 20 years but actions are what count and lack of action of benefit to the country and electorate brought us to this mess and their being ejected from government.
A promise is worthless if there is no intent or will to deliver on it. The Conservative and Unionist Party is having to live with the consequences of their performance and the Reform party may have to but you must recognise the old world of entitlement to power has passed.
October 8, 2025
Sir John, Does the Reform Council need to cut this year’s budget or just to not spend the money allocated?
Is public sector accounting practice so poor that in year savings can’t be found?
Reply It needs to cut the budget otherwise officers will ensure spend up to budget
October 8, 2025
@Reply – isn’t the catch 22 that if you don’t spend your allowances, grants etc. you don’t get them next time around. The power and the dictate come from Whitehall.
Reply Not true and that shouldn’t make you waste money
October 8, 2025
Thank you
October 8, 2025
I expect the same thing is happening with the Reform Councillors in Kent as has happened in Lancashire. I went to a meeting addressed by a Reform Cabinet member in Lancashire. Apparently they had received clear instructions from Reform Party HQ to cut spending and costs but they decided to overrule those instructions because they thought it was better to work with rather than against their senior Council Officers to supposedly achieve their objectives because they apparently thought it wasn’t very practical for them to do as Reform Party HQ told them to do.
Of course they should have done as Reform Party HQ told them to do but it was only yesterday that this very blog described how very difficult it is for elected members to control their officials – so it is not surprising that many Reform Councillors are failing to do so just as Labour, Liberal and Conservative Councillors generally all fail to do so.
Reply The need for the elected to direct the officers and government officials well with a good strategic plan is a key belief of my work. This site is trying to help bring that about to achieve better government!
October 8, 2025
Unfortunately, a lot of very well intentioned people simply won’t have the neccessary skills to produce a “good strategic plan” Sir John – nor even the ability to read a Balance sheet and P&L statements. They are going to be very much at the mercy of their officials unless they get outside expert advice…
October 8, 2025
When politicians get “expert” advice they nearly always choose totally the wrong “experts” like that chap from Imperial during Covid or BSE, the people on the Committee for Climate Change, the BoE experts, the MRNA dire vaccine regulators, their many left wind deluded or dishonest economic “experts”…
October 8, 2025
The problem, Sir John, is that there are next to no politicians like yourself who are a Fellow of an Oxbridge College who have managed a very sizeable company. One cannot therefore hope to get savings in an optimal way but nevertheless savings and lower tax can be achieved if politicians, even those of very limited ability prioritise lower tax. As you have commented a virtual recruitment freeze is possible. Even more significantly politicians do have the ace card even though they don’t seem to realise it. Politicians and not officials set the overall budget (in Councils they vote through the Council Tax levels once a year and in Parliament they vote through the annual Budget) and at the end of the day however much they dislike it officials must adapt to the budget politicians have set. Politicians don’t necessarily have to (though they almost always do) pass the budget the officials want. For instance just once (in 1986) the Councillors in Bury refused to pass the rate (as it then once) their officials wanted and the Council’s Director of Finance publicly denounced their budget in the Council chamber but in the end the officials had no choice but to live within the budget the Councillors set. This should happen much more often.
However what is really needed from you is not an intellectual near- perfect system for saving money but an easily understood (by third rate politicians) ‘Dummies Guide/Pamphlet For Saving Public Money’.
October 8, 2025
Good Morning,
If I may, this morning’s most important news is the threatened 50% tariff on UK steel by the EU. This is going to be Starmer’s biggest test so far with the EU. Does he defend UK against the EU or does he cave in, as usual, and give the EU whatever he can. This issue is clear, defend UK interests first, or make it unequivocal he prefers them to us. Who is he working for?
October 8, 2025
Morning Sir John,
I think it was obvious to most of us that, any new, non socialist administration, be that at national or local level, was always going to come up against The Good Dog Club. The media, the people who like to be called officers, the trade unions are all going to make life as awkward as possible for Reform, just as they would for BluLabour if ever they became true Conservative again.
The most scary thing I’ve recently seen was the new Green Party Leader putting forward his vision for a future UK with a Green Party government. Fingers crossed he’ll never get into that position in charge of government.
October 8, 2025
Kent is in the front line when it comes to the boat people. The county is stuffed with them, living comfortable lives in 4-star hotels on benefits paid for by the British taxpayer. Whilst working in the black economy to pay back their debts to the people smugglers. No wonder the party lost a well-established Tory controlled council to Reform
Many schools have had to engage specialist teachers with qualifications to teach English as a foreign language. Local people have trouble getting their children into primary schools.
It is very concerning that at the local ward level, many Reform councillors replaced Conservatives to win control of KCC. The Tories must go back to their grass roots and rebuild local support in previously true-blue areas.
October 8, 2025
Council budgets and spending details are a well guarded secret.
At a recent Reform meeting the leader of the Reform group of councillors informed everyone the budget was so stretched there was no option but to increase council tax by the maximum permitted which for the moment is 5%.
When I asked how many permanent council staff members are employed she did not know? The council is actually run(sic) by the LibDems. The point I am making is, the most basic data needed to measure efficiency of council activity is guarded and kept close by the permanent staff. They do not inform, they actually hide information the average joe might otherwise use to ask awkward questions.
This particular council employs over 6000 staff and do not carry out what we would regard as maintenance of infrastructure or services. With that being the case, my suggestion of a 5% cull of council staff went down like a cup of poison. My alternative suggestion of a 5% cut in salaries and pension payments was equally unpopular. The following week the councillors collectively voted for a 3.2% pay rise for themselves, other than Reform who abstained, They will still get the uplift thanks to the LibDem voting it through. Why the Reform councillors did not vote against the uplift I do not know maybe an extra £400/year to bring the annual allowance up to £14,800/year for sitting in various meeting up to 12 times a year was considered reasonable?
October 8, 2025
And now an index-linked final salary pension too….
October 8, 2025
Badenough has taken 15 months to assess the manifold “mistakes” which the Tories’ 5 previous “Conservative” Prime Ministers made over 14 years and is only now starting to propose new policies.
Reform has been in charge of Kent County Council for 6 months and is having to review 20 years of “Conservative” council spending contracts and decisions.
Reply When you get into power you need to act quickly and start as you mean to carry on. 2 years of Conservative budgets 2025-7 means none of the promised overall cuts
October 8, 2025
reply to reply …I already detailed why immediate cuts are very difficult you ought to know about contracts let and finding reductions difficult. Staff redundancies? Benefits cut? Immigrants to be turned out onto the streets?
Which are you in favour of?
Reply Immediate staff freeze on external recruitment unless exceptional need. Still not done. No new contracts or contract extensions without getting costs down.
October 8, 2025
so what level of saving is that ? magician arm waving again.
October 8, 2025
@Donna – then look at her team all having the collective responsibility on the previous administrations one mistake after another. They sat there seemingly in agreement with all decisions and direction – they didn’t walk and allowed their names to agreements. No apologies for getting it wrong. The Parliamentary Group in the HoC has seemingly put their stamp to the blunders they refused the membership a say, instead have looked for continuation and continuity of everything that lost them a massive majority in Parliament. The don’t even have the wherewithal to ask what it means when they disenfranchised the countries conservatives – the conservative vote as the figures show didn’t go to Reform
October 8, 2025
“When you get into power you need to act quickly …”
Why didn’t she?
October 8, 2025
I’ve commented before that Reform need to show their mettle in local government to demonstrate competence so KCC performance is critical. But they will no doubt be attracting fire and spoiling actions from government and the established parties/groups, I suggest they operate as transparently as possible so any such activity is made public and the electorate can appreciate what is going on – for me how problems and failure are dealt with are as important as the wins.
Reading around, if they are able to form a single unitary authority they can hopefully reduce costs associated with the more local tiers and it appears have already made inroads on large long term debts KCC inherited from the previous administrations so reducing pressure on next year’s budget.
Buried in the Independent article which headlines they are likely to increase rates by 5% KCC appear to have taken the kind of actions you have been advocating;
– “implementing a ‘no more borrowing’ policy which will reduce their debt by a further £33 million by March 2026”
– “scrapping KCC’s net zero renewable energy programme to save £32 million over four years”
– “stopping the move to a new council building which has avoided an additional £14 billion of borrowing”
refs;
BBC – “Reform of council ‘unworkable’, councillor says”, 30-Sept-25
Independent – “Reform UK set to hike council tax in Kent by 5% – despite DOGE-style pledge to cut costs”, 7-Oct-25
PS I have seen no forward commitments from Wokingham DC yet and fully expect them to shaft us with the full increase for the every declining services.
Reply KCC is a very large spender. The commonsense test is can they avoid a maximum Council Tax rise, and/ or cut the size of the inherited Conservative Council budget?
October 8, 2025
@Reply agree with your tests though much is contingent on the central government who appear never to be much of a friend to local authority budgets.
October 8, 2025
On Saturday 4 October there was yet another very serious breach of military security – this time at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Larkhill, Wiltshire. The rear gates of the garrison were found cut open, intruders had gained access and a large amount of fuel from a civilian contractor on site was stolen
As with the recent breach of security at RAF Brize Norton, the MoD has come out with platitudes, minimising the seriousness of the breach. Clearly, the MoD doesn’t appear to have learnt any lessons from the Brize Norton breach.
SoS Defence Healey should ensure that the camp commandant is replaced and should then undertake a comprehensive security review across all UK military bases and assets. Before the Russians do it for him.
October 9, 2025
A replacement of the commandant before an investigation has been completed would be unfair.
October 8, 2025
I can’t claim to have a deep understanding of the financial workings of KCC, or indeed any county council.
Reform have been in power a short time, how about giving them a chance?
They have made one significant saving:
Kent County Council has successfully negotiated with Barclays Bank to repay £50m of debt at a discount of £5.5m.
Reply I am giving them the chance to do better! They could cut spending.
October 8, 2025
Last night the spot price of gold bullion surpassed $4000/oz (£3010/oz). It appears that gold is now on an upward parabolic curve, having risen 50% already this year.
Many are wondering what has caused this surge in value of the world’s traditional store of value. Clearly, central banks globally are buying gold as soon as the miners can produce it. They are dumping $dollars to do so. China has bought 18tons this year. Poland has bought 10tons. Even central American countries are buying – El Salvador bought two tons last month. The BoE – again – bought zero gold
Some say the cause is the high level of geopolitical risk. But one thing is sure, the gold rally is related to debasement of currencies, particularly the dollar after Trump’s “big beautiful bill”
October 8, 2025
“between 1999 and 2002 at an average price of approximately $275 per ounce, a price that became known as “Brown’s Bottom” He even announced it in advance to depress the price further. The proceeds were largely tipped down the drain on insanities like the climate charge act and his bank crash incompetence.
“approximately 395 to 401 tonnes of gold between 1999 and 2002, which represented about half of the UK’s gold reserves at the time, for a sum of about $3.5 billion.”
October 8, 2025
SG. As a small investor I bought bullion in physical blocks of 25 gramme. It has appreciated by 23% since I bought it so cheers to the Donald.
October 8, 2025
So good news for Russia then, the world’s second biggest producer of gold.
Personally I prefer to invest in people, especially my own. Their ingenuity produces the wealth we all live on.
October 9, 2025
Good. I’ve got lots of the stuff. My interest in gold is as a hedge against a collapse in the US stock-market. When – not if – that happens, gold should either keep stable, or rise a bit.
October 8, 2025
So Sir John you respond to Badenoch’s call to arms! Having frequently point out you wish to consider Labour and its failings as a Government, trying to talk down discussion of Conservatives, you now attack Reform.
Forgive the sarcasm, which you won’t , but its a bit rich!
Publish this, will you?
Reply I have not attacked Reform. I have looked at what KCC is doing as an important large Council where I support the stated Reform aim of cutting spending!
October 8, 2025
A Reform council has failed to cut costs. Why am I not surprised?
Partly because council spending is largely driven by the cost of statutory duties. An elderly person who spent all the money they ever had and put nothing by for their old age needs a care home. The council has to pay. No cap on the numbers the council have to cater for.
The people who voted Reform are discovering their promises are empty words. They don’t have the experience to cut costs. I don’t buy this excuse that they haven’t had time to implement savings; they should have been putting them in place on day one if they knew what they were doing.
Central government pours legislation onto local government in their largesse, so of course costs go up, and there’s nothing local government can do about it.
October 8, 2025
The Reform Party should have training courses for their candidates. Anyone who does not cut it should not be a candidate.
Of course it’s a hard and bloody battle. What did they expect? It’s not the EU ‘parliament’ where there are no jobs to actually do.
October 9, 2025
I agree with this.
I would go further, Reform need to be growing a college of government to instigate, develop and disseminate good practice because the blogs training only benefits the blob and not the rest of us.
October 8, 2025
KCC beg to differ with your assessment. I don’t know who is telling the truth, but here are some of the savings they claim to have made:
£2.5 million saved on home-to-school transport.
£5.5 million savings on debt repayment.
£206k saved by imposing a 5% cut in councillor allowances.
£50k saved by scrapping crisis grants.
£14 million saved by staying in the current council accommodation.
£32 million saved over the next 4 years by scrapping the declared climate emergency.
£7.5 million saved by 2030 by scrapping the transition of council vehicles to electric.
£1.5 million saved by bringing children’s homes back into council ownership.
In addition, KCC:
Have written to the Home Office for the £200K owed to them for supporting child asylum seekers who have turned 18.
Investigating the failure of District Councils to pass on on-street parking fees.
Investigation of over-charging and duplication from taxi firms providing home-to-school transport.
Have written to the Transport Minister for a share of the Dartford Crossing profits to fix Kent roads.
Investigating the implementation of a ‘foreign freight tax’ to be paid at Dover and Folkestone.
In just 5 months, this seems an impressive list of achievements to me.
Reply Just read your list. It has had no impact on this year or next year total budget. Many of the cuts are not doing things in the future they cannot afford. Items in thousands or single millions have little impact on this size of budget and are the kind of things many Councils are doing to slow growth in spending. £14 m saved by staying in existing accommodation a good idea but costs of current accommodation still going up. What is next’s actual cut from no longer talking of a climate emergency?
October 8, 2025
John I don’t think the Conservatives are going to be forgiven any time soon
Country before party Reform are in desperate need of wisdom !!
Reply I am offering my advice free to any party that wants to do the right thing!
October 8, 2025
Reform in Kent should take you up on that, John, I would.
Do this Council perhaps own any empty office buildings that could be brought back into use?
Do they own any empty shops?
Are their council tax debts being collected quickly and efficiently, what is their failure rate?
Can extra money be made by renting out more facilities owned by the Council?
Do they have many workers on sick leave for over six months that could be reorganised to suit their capabilities better?
October 8, 2025
Like all Councils they will resort to the ‘soft’ target of punishing the motorist. Punishing the motorist that cant get to work without the car as there is no alternative. Punishing the motorist that is trying to provide for themselves and their families.
Sorry, Sir John, I moved the subject sideways. All Councils suffer as they don’t have their own real income other than fining people trying to go about their business to contribute for all. Central Government that lofty place of we know best is the real control, they dictate what Councils have to spend on, but preclude were it should come from, without the Council having a say.
Sir John – quite reasonable as a defender of the Conservative Party, you wish to highlight ‘Reforms’ failings but you are in fact just reminding us that all Political Groups are all just talk and always fail the first time they have to live up to what was promised, implied and inferred. Look at the Conservatives 14years of failure, proving their incompetence and ability to do what they say the would do time and time again. The failed to let us have Brexit, the Windsor Accord record debt and borrowing – the list is endless. Do we need to remind everyone of the Conservative Council fails, Surrey! Then Labour immediately taking us back to the 70’s, also the Brown financial crisis, Labour Councils. The other parties, it is hard to evaluate their policies as they are different for each audience.
To me and it is a side issue once more, devolution, the real devaluation that didn’t happen. Central Government needs to let go of micro managing how people act and think. What they want for Socialist Metro the foreign country that is London doesn’t play well elsewhere. County Councils are better placed to achieve 90% of what Central Government thinks it is for them to act on – but they wont allow it. CC should be the tax and do element. To long in the EU with its thinking has reduced the HoC to still thrashing around looking for a job so instead of managing the Nation they stick to local council jobs by in reality ‘sticking it to the local councils’
Reply This site is not a Conservative party website.
October 8, 2025
@Reply – I didn’t mean to suggest it was. I felt you sort of opened that door by singling out one faction and not all the others failures that all go onto say one thing to get elected and put other motions into play once that is achieved.
The flaws are top to bottom and in some-ways are all the same. They all seem to be advised by the same speak from the same ‘gurus’, probably all using the same AI, a polarised Uniparty – no one with a brain of their own
October 8, 2025
What KCC needs is a forensic accountant to go through its budget and find where it can be cut. You are right to say that when you come into power, whether in Government, local government or private business, you must have a clear plan and act immediately. The top council staff, employees, and trade unions will do everything they can to frustrate you. I am confident that every council in the UK is overmanned, so making at least 10% of staff redundant is the first step. Not your plumbers, electricians, road sweepers, etc, but the management level who are more of an obstacle than a help.
Frankly, if they have not got a grip in six months, they won’t!
October 8, 2025
The big waste is in Statutory Duties that the local council/local politicians have little control over. This, of course, includes social services spending which is way too high and does so much damage to society.
Reform should make “welfare” spending reduction a national issue (not easy with a few MPs)
October 8, 2025
@Kenneth – its weird that the UK’s HoC became a mere Local Council under EU Control and as such want to play at being a Local Council for ever and a day by creating ‘Statutory Duties’ that maybe required in places like Socialist Metro London that are well out of place elsewhere and have little bearing on local needs and situations. While at the same time the creation and control of the money is held centrally. The UK Governments have a fear that if they let those that do the job best, local people local needs they might be successful, and that might reflect badly on the central monolith of the State as it was previously the Local Council directed by the unelected unaccountable in the EU. They have forgotten(or are to young to understand, the EU was 40years of corrupting how a country works) that managing a country is the whole, it ensuring it has a framework that creates wealth for the whole, ensuring the big projects the keeping the nation safe and secure and the lights on is what is required, not dabbling in things to suit personal ego
October 8, 2025
My position on all this is that the only way forward is to drastically cut spending in order to promote growth.
It is blindingly obvious that the left wing parties (ie everyone other than the Conservatives and Reform), is wedded to ever-higher spending which is never going to bring back a growing economy.
JR-M is right – the only political solution is for the Conservatives and Reform to work together. In many respects, they are a near-perfect match but only Nigel Fagage and Richard Tice could be trusted to lead such a Government. The Conservatives have been the only party that could be relied on to sort out the economy after every disastrous Labour administration, and Reform can be relied upon to keep them on track over the Woke policies pursued by Sunak and May. Particularly on migration and dealing with Europe.
However, Reform have some dangerously left-leaning tendencies we simply cannot afford, like restoring the child benefit cap. The Country cannot afford any extra spending at all until the economy has been restored to health.
That requires :
Abandoning Net Zero and having at least a ten year moritorium on any new wind and solar farms.
Repealing all the legislation requiring us to switch to EVs. They will need to compete on a level playing field.
Promote 100% exploitation of North Sea and onshore fossil fuel assets which will bring in much needed taxation.
Cuts in in-work Benefits, mobility allowance cars, unemployment benefit and a plan to soften the Triple Lock etc.
Reduce the Civil Service to pre-pandemic levels then use AI to cut it by a further 25%
Abandon all Public Sector DB Pension Schemes
As for spending, I would divert some of the extra taxation from new fossil fuel extraction to fast tracking the building of at least the first ten SMRs, kick-starting a valuable new export engineering industry for UK business.
Thanks to the mess made by Thieves and 2TK, taxes might have to rise in the short term, but the quid pro quo could be short term income tax rises offset by a committment to reduce these and capital taxes and IHT back to fairer and more sustainable levels.
I would also take an axe to much of the current overblown and extravagant university system in favour of apprenticeships for practical and necessary jobs that pay decent wages.
October 8, 2025
@ChrisS – “the only political solution is for the Conservatives and Reform to work together.” I would have to disagree with you there. The come over as ‘chalk & cheese’ No similarity at any level.
The guys that use the name conservative are the crew that disenfranchised all UK Conservative at the last election, having proven that as a tax & spend out fit they were somewhere between Ed Davys bunch and Labour, but never conservative, centre ground capably of managing themselves even.
You say “relied on to sort out the economy” but these are the self-same guys that created they highest tax and borrowing in 70 years while at the same deindustrialising the Nation so it couldn’t respond and find a tomorrow. In other words, these individuals crippled the UK so it couldn’t fund a tomorrow. No one else did that, yes Labour has picked up the same policies and are pursuing them with more zeal, but the door was opened. So on track record alone they don’t know what being a conservative is, let alone being allowed to get near the economy
As for Reform as you say they have fallen in to the trap of also turning left, probably. Reform, or maybe just Farage are the much-needed disrupters the Country needs. But having the answers, there is nothing to suggest they have. Farage appears to see like the majority that the Country has been turned into a basket case this century it needs tearing up and starting over. Reform might just do that as they up until recently were NOT ‘the others’
The only hope for a Conservative Government is a clear out top to bottom, having the grass roots the real activists put back in control. Getting conservative thinking and dare I say good conservative managements back in Parliament
October 8, 2025
Kent CC had repaid long-term debt of £50 million to save future interest payments: https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/a-brave-and-significant-move-sees-50m-wiped-off-kccs-long-term-debt
which seems like good news to me.
Reply But have borrowed more, increasing total debt
October 8, 2025
I missed it at the start of conference, and missed it again at the end of conference, but I didn’t hear Kemi mention, repeal the UK/EU/NI deal, EU laws, the CCC, the french immigration deal, the ban fracking shale gas, EV mandate and net-zero subsidies, fisheries etc etc ….I welcomed the banning of retail business rates – but its not a ban, just a change of relief
Same old same old
Reply Claire Couthino set out a comprehensive demolition of NZ subsidies,bans and taxes
October 8, 2025
Watching Badenoch’s conference speach, she did very well, however, ex Conservative voters like me are not going to be convinced after so many downturns. We are still going to want the next right of centre government to be majority-led by Reform’s Richard Tice and Nigel Farage in order that we can be sure the Conservatives do not backtrack, as they will still be likely to have too many Wets in parliament.
The two parties MUST work together in order to beat the unholy alliance that is shaping up between all of the left of centre parties in Parliament.
October 8, 2025
In the MsM – “Labour Ministers have dumped a £1.2 million migrant bill on a London council after hundreds of Chagos Islanders landed at Heathrow”
That is not a Council in Control of spending that is Central Government dictating spending.
” Council says 621 migrants from the Indian Ocean archipelago have arrived since last summer, with a further 157 due this week alone. Officials fear the true cost could top £1.2 million a year if the flow continues, forcing the borough to raid other funds to pay for housing, food and essentials.”
“Council officials say the new arrivals from Chagos are coming in without plans for where they will live next.”
October 8, 2025
“I had to battle to stop officials trying to turn departmental decisions into matters of debate with other departments, as a few were up to trying to stop things by an external intervention…..I found that if you were always polite and thoughtful about your officials you could persuade enough of them that things could be done better.”
How long does it take to “persuade enough of them that things could be done better”? Especially one where the same party has been in control for 30 years and doubtless both these party councillors and the officials have succumbed over time to Robert Conquest’s 2nd law of politics if not the 3rd law in the case of the officials? And how easy is it for new councillors to obtain the information they need?
October 8, 2025
Proposed council tax increases greater than 5% in England must have voter approval in a referendum. In other nations of the UK there is no requirement to hold a ballot and council tax increases routinely exceed this threshold.
It will be interesting to see if the Conservatives or Reform propose to extend the same level of democracy to Wales as part of their manifestos for the May 2026 Welsh Government elections.
October 8, 2025
Kemi just joined the tribe of Promises, promises which she may never have to enact.
In any case as all oppositions do, they talk the Promised Land but don’t deliver.
October 9, 2025
A fair hit, Sir John. Reform is still the new kid on the block and I don’t think that they have a fully-developed local government policy framework. They need to beef up that policy function at their party HQ.
Here, in Portsmouth, we have campaigning underway for a council by-election. The three flyers through my letter-box so far all have a common failing: they talk exclusively about ward issues. Wannabe councillors should also have a view on the functions at council-level. In particular, tthey need to know which levers the controlling party can pull.