Kent County Council is facing a financial blackhole of £46.5m as Reform’s running of the authority continues to come under scrutiny.
Since taking over England’s largest local authority at this year’s local elections, Nigel Farage’s party have been keen to use the council as an example of how they can be trusted to govern.
There were grand plans for a Musk-inspired department of government efficiency and proud claims that Reform would be able to save millions by cutting wasteful spending.
READ NEXT: Reform council forced to remove flags due to health and safety concerns
But it’s all been a bit trickier than Reform thought, with the party overseeing a chaotic few months in control of Kent County Council.
Now, a new revenue and capital budget forecast report has exposed how the council is facing a huge financial blackhole because of overspending, which seems to have got worse since Reform took control.
The report from the council about their revenue position states that the “current working budget for 2025-26 is £1,531.9m,” which would represent an overspend of £46.5m for the year.
The report says the overspend “presents a risk to the Council’s future financial sustainability.
Perhaps most damningly, the overspend is significantly up since Reform took control of the council.
In quarter one of the year, the council had an overspend of £27.9m, which had risen to £47.2m for quarter two.
The council wrote that this is a “serious concern and heightens the risk to our future financial sustainability and financial resilience.”