Reform officially take over Kent County Council

Reform UK has officially taken control of Kent County Council following the party's sweeping victory in May's local elections.

Kent party leader Linden Kemkaran was sworn in as council leader and told her councillors in a private meeting: "Today is about getting on with business."

Richard Palmer has been elected as the new chair of the council and Peter Evans as vice chair.

Reform took 57 out of 81 seats in the Kent County Council (KCC) election at the beginning of May, wiping out the Conservative majority which had stood for nearly 30 years.

Ms Kemkaran said: "It is the honour of my life. I'm a Kentish girl through and through.

"I promise you this with my honour, I'm going to do the best I can while I'm here and I thank you."

Addressing the council after his appointment as chair, Mr Palmer said: "It's a huge privilege and honour, and I will do all I can to do this job with the upmost ability."

Speaking to BBC South East after she was chosen as Reform leader for Kent, Ms Kemkaran said she wanted to try and lessen the impact of illegal migration on the county's residents.

Ms Kemkaran said Reform councillors were seeing what parts of policy related to migration they could control.

"We are looking at what we can do legally to say, no, we do not want to have our hotels and houses of multiple occupancy filled up in Kent," she said.

She inherits a council teetering on the brink of bankruptcy that faces significant challenges in providing key services including adult social care, education and transport.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.