Kent councillors dispute over Reform UK letter
The letter to Reform Kent County Council was branded as "threatening" by a Labour Medway councillor.
On the 3rd of June, during a cabinet meeting for the Towns’ authority, Medway Council's leader Cllr Vince Maple disagreed with Reform UK’s decision to bring in a Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to county hall. Cllr Maple said that in the letter that outlined what the moved aims to achieve, the Kent County Council staff were treated "appallingly". He added that signatures from Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf, Leader and chairman of Reform UK, on the letter had nothing to do with the authority.
Cllr Maple said: "Sending out a letter- two people who signed it have nothing to do with Kent County Council- it's disgraceful"
"Whoever that letter had come from, whichever political party, we'd call it out because it's our neighbours. If your neighbour's doing something bad you call it out"
“Keir Starmer and Ellie Reeves will never write to Medway Council, let me tell you that now, because it’s not their job.
“The language in that letter is a disgrace, it’s a disgrace to local government.”
The letter stated that the DOGE team would consist of "software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors" to review Kent County Council.
It's said to concern council documents, finance, procurement and audit data and internal investigations into financial matters and states the letter directed council staff to comply with this initiative.
The letter states the authority would "consider any obstruction of our councillors' duties to be gross misconduct" and added "we trust this will not be required".
A war of words has broken out after the leader of one of the county’s biggest local authorities called out a “threatening” letter sent to staff at another council.
Medway Council’s leader Cllr Vince Maple (Lab) called the actions of the new Reform administration at Kent County Council (KCC) “a disgrace” and accused it of “threatening” staff.
During a cabinet meeting for the Towns’ authority on June 3, Cllr Maple criticised Reform UK’s decision to bring in a Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to county hall and particularly a letter outlining what the move aimed to achieve.
He said KCC staff had been treated “appallingly” and said two of the signatories on the letter – Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf, leader and chairman of Reform UK, respectively – had nothing to do with the authority.
Cllr Maple said: “I send my sympathy to KCC staff, they’ve been treated appallingly in the last 48 hours.
“Sending out a letter – two people who signed it have nothing to do with Kent County Council – it’s disgraceful.
“Whoever that letter had come from, whichever political party, we’d call it out because it’s our neighbours. If your neighbour’s doing something bad you call it out.”
“Keir Starmer and Ellie Reeves will never write to Medway Council, let me tell you that now, because it’s not their job.
“The language in that letter is a disgrace, it’s a disgrace to local government.”
The letter, signed by KCC leader Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf, said the DOGE team would be made up of “software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors” to conduct a review of KCC.
It would concern council documents; finance, procurement and audit data; and internal investigations into financial matters and the letter directed council staff to comply with the team.
It said if there was resistance to the initiative, the authority would pass a motion to “compel the same and will consider any obstruction of our councillors’ duties to be gross misconduct” but added “we trust this will not be required”.
Cllr Maple added the Labour administration in Medway was choosing a different approach, and hosted events where council staff could ask leaders questions.
He continued: “Whilst Reform UK Limited PLC are sending a letter threatening staff, the only letter in Medway council staff will receive is from me saying ‘Come along to a session with me and Richard Hicks, our chief executive, ask us questions directly.
“We’re open, we’re transparent, we want to work with you, we respect you, we value you.
“It’s down to the hardworking staff of Medway Council who have delivered savings and service improvements.”
The comments came at the end of discussion on an item about the financial position of Medway Council and the authority’s financial improvement and transformation (FIT) plan.
Cllr David Finch, leader of Reform UK’s group on Medway Council said the response from Cllr Maple proved why DOGE was necessary.
He said: “Cllr Maple’s comments reflect the exact problem the Department of Government Efficiency is designed to address – a resistance to scrutiny, accountability and sensible reform.
“The public deserve better than knee-jerk political outrage when waste and inefficiency are being tackled.
“It doesn’t seem appropriate for a Medway Labour leader to publicly attack a Reform initiative at KCC – particularly when that initiative is designed to improve outcomes for residents across Kent.
“If anything, Medway Council should be considering its own version of Doge.
“Reform UK is unapologetically focused on delivering value for taxpayers.
“It is already under way at Kent County Council and will be a blueprint for how we transform local government nationwide.
“The suggestion that staff ‘resisting’ reform may face misconduct proceedings has been deliberately distorted by our opponents.
“This is not about threatening anyone – it’s about setting clear expectations. No one is above scrutiny, and deliberate obstruction of transparency and reform should rightly be a concern in any public body. That is a standard of integrity, not a threat.
“Residents are demanding better services and responsible spending. Reform UK is delivering just that – with or without the approval of the political establishment.”
Cllr Kemkaran said: “On May 1 we received an overwhelming mandate from the people of Kent and have made no secret of the fact that our number one priority is to ensure that public money is spent wisely.
“Every decision we make will be driven by two aims – maximising productivity and delivering value for money for the people we represent and serve.
“I value every staff member at KCC and I know they care as much as its new administration does about doing the job to the best of their ability.
“This review is not only about the staff who work every day to deliver vital KCC services. What we need to do, at pace, is to examine contractual arrangements with KCC’s suppliers, capital expenditure, the use of reserves and financial resilience.”