"Plans to Redraw the Council Map have descended into Utter Shambles"
Antony Hook, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council, has reacted with disbelief to the government's announcement that they are postponing Local Government Reorganisation for review for areas across the country, including Kent.
Antony says:
“Today’s announcement confirms what many of us have feared for months, that Whitehall’s top down plans to redraw the council map have descended into utter shambles.
“To find out that the Government has had to pull the emergency brake across the country, withdrawing decisions in neighbouring counties and freezing plans for Kent and Medway is hugely damaging. The council is meant to be delivering important services not matched up and down the hill in this way.
“For months, council officers and members across Kent County Council and our twelve district and borough authorities have poured hundreds of hours of time, energy, and valuable taxpayer funded resources into planning for reorganisation. To now be told that ministers are pausing everything for an internal review leaves our county stuck in complete administrative limbo.
“Worse still, this entire saga has been an expensive, Whitehall driven distraction from the real crises unfolding on the doorsteps of Kent. Redrawing council boundaries and debating new governance structures does not fix a single pothole on our roads, it does not create a single new place for children with special educational needs, and it does not plug the staggering multi million pound black hole in adult social care.
“Liberal Democrats have always supported genuine devolution, putting real power and decision making into the hands of our local communities, towns, and parish councils. That requires fair, sustainable funding from central government, not bureaucratic reshuffles concocted in Westminster.
“Confirming that local elections will go ahead on existing boundaries in 2027 gives us some immediate certainty, but it does not undo the wasted effort. The Secretary of State must disclose how much public money has been wasted on this process, and the Government should urgently pivot its focus away from redrawing borders and towards properly funding the frontline services the people of Kent depend on every day.”
The full Government Press Release published Monday 7th September lunchtime is below:
MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REVIEW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION LAUNCHED
• Review launched into plans to streamline local government following legal advice, to ensure it is robust and aligns with new government priorities
• Part of Prime Minister’s determination to rewire the state and shift power into the hands of local communities to drive good growth in every postcode
• Decisions on reorganisation in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk withdrawn
• Plans for 14 further areas announced will also be reviewed, alongside the two areas yet to be confirmed – Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and West Sussex
A review of plans to streamline local government is set to be announced later today (7th September) to ensure the process is robust and aligns with the new government’s plans to rewire the state.
Following updated and privileged legal advice, ministers will review plans for Local Government Reorganisation.
The review – which will be announced by the Secretary of State later today in Parliament – will include decisions on Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, which have been withdrawn in light of new legal advice.
Plans for 14 other areas, along with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and West Sussex, will also be reviewed and paused while this is carried out.
To reassure local leaders and communities while this review takes place, the government will confirm that local elections in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries and remains committed to effective and sustainable local government and simplifying these structures.
The government's Rewiring the State White Paper on devolution will also set out plans to rewire the country and ensure effective and sustainable local government in future.
This comes on the back of the push to shift power out of Westminster and into communities, led by No10 North.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner is expected to tell Parliament today:
“As we are now more determined than ever to devolve power closer to the people we represent, it’s only right that as a new Secretary of State I make sure that everything we do is working towards that plan to change Britain, without delay.
“The Prime Minister told the House last week, he was ‘prepared to look at local government reorganisation’ and he asked me as his Communities Secretary to 'do that'.
“[..] In that context, in light of legal advice, I want to satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law. And secondly, I want to fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and a new Prime Minister and any additional considerations.
“[..] I do not take this lightly. I recognise the huge amount of work that has already gone into progressing reorganisation in each of these areas, and I am very grateful for it.”
Reorganisation in Surrey will not be affected by the review and the two new unitary authorities – East and West Surrey – will go live in April 2027.
The Secretary of State will update the House on this later today.