£100,000 of taxpayer's money to be spent on political assistants for Kent councillors
The motion was passed by 45 to 26 in a full council meeting on 18 December
Kent County Council has voted to allocate more than £100,000 of taxpayer money to hire political assistants for councillors, sparking concerns over financial priorities during a full council meeting.
The motion was passed on 18th December with 45 votes in favour, 26 against, and one abstention.
Political assistants, described as “paid party spin doctors”, will be assigned to support communication and messaging for councillors assigned to various political groups at the authority.
The council’s Reform leadership defended the decision, claiming that it could save money long-term. However, critics argue it is an unnecessary expenditure at a time when Kent faces funding cuts to essential services like social care and education.
Antony Hook, leader of the Liberal Democrats at KCC, raised objections:
“Reform have decided to spend taxpayer money on people promoting their political party instead of supporting urgent public services. It's an outrageous use of funds—money should be going to real services that people rely on, not paying for party apparatchiks.”
Mr Hook highlighted that the council recently cut £50,000 from crisis grants for residents in urgent need, while the approved funding for political assistants exceeds double that amount.
The role of political assistants includes working closely with councillors to write press releases, prepare speeches, and publicly promote their party’s messages.
Mr Hook stated, “These are paid spin doctors—jobs to serve the political agendas of councillors rather than deliver council services to Kent residents.”
He added, “This decision also hits morale of the council’s workforce at a time when there’s already a recruitment freeze for essential positions such as social workers or highways managers. Staff are doing their absolute best despite difficult conditions, and now they see money diverted to political hires instead of much-needed resources."
Other councillors echoed his concerns. Labour and Co-operative leader Mr Alister Brady said, “Raising your profile doesn’t need another person to get on your political bandwagon. This decision will have an incredible impact on the already low morale of staff.”
Independent Reform leader Bill Barrett, who was expelled from the Reform party, urged councillors ahead of the vote to “use your head and your heart—is this a responsible use of public money?”
Concerns over governance and democracy
Mr Hook also expressed alarm about reports of predetermination in the decision-making process.
“It’s incredible that a video circulating shows Reform unveiling their own political assistant earlier this week, despite the council not yet deciding whether this motion would pass. It’s clear Reform leadership expected councillors to simply rubber-stamp decisions rather than engage in democratic debate.”
Councils are legally required to offer political assistants to opposition groups representing more than 10% of council seats, meaning the Liberal Democrats could also appoint an assistant.
Mr Hook expressed uncertainty about whether his group would use the role, saying, “I don’t believe political assistants are something the council should have, but people tell me it’s important to present an alternative point of view if Reform will have someone promoting their offices.”
Mr Hook said he would consider the matter over the Christmas period before making a decision.
The motion has divided opinion among councillors, with concerns that taxpayer money is being used politically rather than addressing urgent funding gaps in frontline services.