Lib Dems: Grave Concerns as Reform-led Council Breaks Commitment to Make Summer Traffic Plan
Reform administration accused of letting down Kent families by delaying vital EES and holiday congestion planning until AFTER the summer, despite leading the UK into the Brexit mess.
The Liberal Democrat Group on Kent County Council (KCC) has expressed profound concern following revelations that the council's Reform administration has pushed back work on a crucial traffic mitigation plan until autumn, long after the summer holiday getaway peak is over.
In May, the County Council unanimously passed a Liberal Democrat motion calling on the Cabinet Member for Highways to produce and publish an action plan to protect Kent's roads. The plan was meant to tackle the dual threat of summer holiday tourist surges and the impending rollout of the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES).
Yet, with the full County Council last meeting before the summer holidays taking place this Thursday (16 July), the issue has been entirely omitted from the agenda. Liberal Democrats have been informed that KCC officers have been directed not to begin drafting the action plan until after the school holidays.
This is despite emails warning that the county faces a "RED" rated summer traffic crisis starting this week.
An official email sent to MPs and councillors yesterday by KCC’s Strategic Resilience Manager confirms that Operation Brock has been deployed on the M20 today (14 July) and will remain in place until late August.
The email reveals that the EU has explicitly stated digital Entry-Exit System (EES) border registrations "will not be suspended due to traffic congestion." The threat of holidaymakers becoming trapped in severe gridlock is so high that authorities have quietly set up a "break glass" emergency contingency site at Lydden Hill simply to deal with the welfare of stranded families.
The Liberal Democrats say that using a further site is welcome mitigation but falls short of the comprehensive plan councillors called and the Reform leadership of KCC undertook to provide.
What is the Entry-Exit System (EES) and why is Kent at Risk?
For members of the public who may not be familiar with the upcoming changes:
- What it is: The EES is a new digital border system being introduced by the European Union to make the EU’s external borders more secure. Instead of manually stamping passports, border officials must now register non-EU travellers' names, biometrics (fingerprints and facial scans), and travel details every time they cross an external EU border.
- Why it is a major bottleneck: Because Kent is the UK's principal gateway to Europe, these checks must be carried out before passengers board ferries in Dover or the Eurotunnel in Folkestone. Taking fingerprints and facial scans of every passenger in a vehicle takes significantly longer than a quick passport check.
- The threat to Kent: It is estimated that even a minor delay of just two minutes per car at the border can rapidly spiral into 10-mile tailbacks. During the holiday season, this means local roads across Kent will gridlock, leaving residents unable to get to work, access medical care, or travel safely through their own towns and villages.
"A predictable summer storm"
Tim Prater, Liberal Democrat County Councillor who proposed the May motion, said:
“We are deeply concerned by the lack of action from the council's leadership. To delay an urgent traffic plan until autumn is like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. The summer holidays are starting now, and the first phases of the EES rollout are just weeks away.
“Our concern is twofold. We are deeply worried for Kent residents, who face being trapped in their homes, breathing polluted air, and seeing emergency services blocked by gridlock. But we are also deeply concerned for the welfare of the travellers and families themselves. No one should have to start their hard-earned summer holidays trapped in a hot car for hours on a Kent highway with no access to basic facilities.
"In May, every councillor agreed this was an emergency. For the Reform administration to now quietly shelve this work is a total failure of leadership."
"A crisis of their own making"
Antony Hook, Liberal Democrat County Councillor who seconded the motion, added:
“Let’s be entirely clear: the fact that our county is being subjected to these EES external border checks is the direct fault of Nigel Farage and the others who led us into Brexit. It has been an unmitigated disaster for Britain, and for Kent especially, which has been forced to become a giant lorry park and traffic bottleneck.
“Now, the very political movement that created this mess is running our county council—and they are failing to prepare for it. It is a total betrayal of Kent's residents.
“Reform asked the people of Kent to trust them to run this county, but by failing to prepare for this predictable summer storm, they are letting Kent down. If our county grinds to a standstill over the coming weeks, the responsibility will lie squarely with Reform’s cabinet.”
Key Demands from the Liberal Democrats:
- An Emergency Update This Thursday: The Lib Dems are calling on the Reform Cabinet Member for Highways to make an urgent statement detailing what temporary, immediate measures are in place to manage traffic this month.
- Immediate Government Pressure: KCC must demand that central government makes the Sevington inland border facility available immediately for tourist car queuing to take the pressure off local residential roads.
- Clear Public Information: Active, real-time guidance must be published to help local Kent residents navigate potential bottlenecks.
Mr Hook concluded:
“We need to keep Kent moving and keeping people safe. We urge the Reform administration to reverse this delay immediately, put their political infighting aside, and get to work on the plan they promised our residents in May.”
The May Motion, proposed by Cllr Tim Prater and seconded by Cllr Antony Hook, was passed unanimously by Kent County Council on 21 May 2026. It resolved to produce an action plan to mitigate EES and tourist traffic impacts on Kent residents, and to lobby the Government for funding and the offline use of facilities like Sevington.