Before taking control of councils, the Reform Party loudly promised to cut ‘waste’ in local government to reduce taxes.
Over the last couple of weeks, these pledges have unravelled, with Reform-led councils across the country instead looking to raise Council Tax. It turns out Conservative councils are in fact well run after all.
In Kent, Reform won control of the County Council claiming there was plenty of unnecessary spending they would do away with. This was all part of not having to increase Council Tax by the maximum allowed. The national party’s ‘DOGE’ unit entered the council aiming to make cuts. Despite outlandish pre-election claims of “debt” and “gross financial mismanagement,” they had no clear plans beyond bringing in auditors.
What happened? To quote a Reform Kent Cabinet Member: “Everyone thought we’d come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away but there just aren’t.” Instead, Cllr Diane Morton, Kent’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care admitted Council Tax could be raised by 5 percent – the maximum possible without triggering a local referendum. She added: “We just want more money.” The Reform administration is in fact building on the previous Conservative administration’s spending plans – recognition that Conservatives were running a lean and efficient council.
Saving money requires not just headline grabbing soundbites but far reaching and innovative improvements to council processes.
In other areas, Reform doesn’t seem to have not got the memo on local government efficiency. In Worcestershire, the Reform administration, lacking in self-awareness, charged taxpayers £144 for lunch put on for a visit by Zia Yusuf – ironically in charge of Reform’s DOGE unit
Reports also suggest Nigel Farage plans to abandon promises of up to £90 billion in tax cuts, plans already challenged by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Reform have built their entire platform on making unrealistic claims and unsustainable promises to voters.
Here in Wokingham Borough, Liberal Democrats employed similar tactics. They came into power in 2022 claiming that there was a financial black hole, only for the Council to admit that the Conservatives had left high reserves, had reduced debt, and in the words of the Chief Finance Officer, under the Conservatives “the Council has worked over many years on the highest standards of financial management”.
Wokingham Liberal Democrat Executive councillors have also made irresponsible claims about bankruptcy, redundancies, and cuts, forcing emails to staff to counter scare mongering.
Across the country and locally, Conservatives have a record of delivering efficient, cost-effective local government. We won’t make promises we can’t keep, being honest about the need to live within our means.
P.S. – September’s Council meeting saw yet another instance of the Liberal Democrats, particularly the Council Leader and Mayor, failing to understand, and follow rules and procedures. Conservative councillors raise the issue with officers and time is wasted as officers confer with the Mayor, who oversees Council meetings, only to confirm the Liberal Democrats have got it wrong once again. They seem to think the rules only apply to others.
By Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
