Reform council to save £40m by scrapping net zero plans.
Nigel Farage’s ‘efficiency’ unit suggests Kent County Council should scrap electric car fleet and property renovation plans.
Daniel MartinDeputy Political Editor
10 July 2025 2:21pm BST
Reform UK plans to save £40 million by cutting net zero spending at its largest council.
Nigel Farage’s party won control of Kent in May’s local elections and within days sent in a unit to identify cost savings.
Linden Kemkaran, the leader of Kent County Council, will pledge to save £7.5m by 2030 by scrapping plans to move the council’s fleet of cars to electric.
Ms Kemkaran will also promise to save £32m over the same period by cancelling plans to make council property net zero compliant. More money will be saved by cutting allowances for councillors.
Kent is the first council to announce cost-savings plans following Reform’s sweep of 10 councils in May’s local elections.
It comes after Reform stepped in to scrap trans training materials in Kent County Council which praised puberty blockers and said trans women could still use women’s toilets, despite the Supreme Court judgment.
The councils Reform control
Lancashire
Staffordshire
Durham
Kent
Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Derbyshire
Doncaster
North Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire.Ms Kemkaran said: “My team has found these savings and streams of potential revenue in just a few short weeks and they’ve done it while undergoing essential training, getting to grips with their new roles and generally finding their way around in a brand-new job.“Just imagine what we can do in the months to come. Reform’s cost-saving unit is known as DOLGE (Department of Local Government Efficiency) – an echo of the ‘Doge’ set up by Elon Musk in the US.The team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors worked in Kent to look at ways to save money and reduce waste. The unit will also review Reform’s nine other councils. 5pc cut in councillor allowances.Kent’s DOLGE team recommended scrapping the “Net Zero Renewable Energy Programme” of property modifications, saving £32m over four years.It also suggested scrapping the council’s plans to meet net zero by transitioning its vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, saving a further £7.5m by 2030.Ms Kemkaran wants councillors to take a 5 per cent cut in their allowances, which cover the cost of turning up at meetings. This will generate a sum of £202,500 which will be reallocated into grants of about £2,500 each for councillors to spend in their ward.Since Reform UK took office in May, the level of debt has reduced by some £16 million, a saving of £2,000 per day in interest payments alone.Ms Kemkaran believes that the party’s “no more borrowing” policy will reduce this debt by over £33m by next March.
The council leader is also looking at various subscriptions to organisations to see if they represent value for money, and anticipates that giving notice on various memberships could save up £180,000.
In light of Angela Rayner’s proposed local government reorganisation, Ms Kemkaran has scrapped plans to move staff into a neighbouring building that was due to be renovated.
The council also intends to save money in children’s services by bringing children’s care homes back in-house and purchasing four properties, which will yield a saving of £1.5m over the two financial years starting in April 2026.
Taxpayers’ money vanishes in ‘black hole’
The DOLGE team, which includes entrepreneur Arron Banks, was appointed by Zia Yusuf, the head of Reform’s department of government efficiency.
When the team began their work in Kent last month, Mr Banks told the Telegraph: “For too long, British taxpayers have watched their money vanish into a black hole.
“Their taxes keep going up, their bin collections keep getting less frequent, potholes remain unfixed, their local services keep getting cut.
“Reform won a historic victory on a mandate to change this. As promised, we have created a UK Doge to identify and cut wasteful spending of taxpayer money. Our team will use cutting edge technology and deliver real value for voters.”
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