KCC Elections to go ahead on 1st May 2025
On 5th February it was announced by the government that Kent and Medway will not be on the priority list for local government devolution. As a result, the KCC elections will go ahead on Thursday 1st May.
The anticipated change to local government, the biggest in half a century, would have seen the abolition of all 14 councils in Kent and the creation of a directly elected mayor. This latest decision by the government means a new mayor is unlikely to be appointed in this parliament, with the first set of devolved councils not expected to start until 2028.
Liberal Democrat group leader at KCC Antony Hook said:
“We welcome the news that local elections will go ahead in May. It is vital people get to choose who represents them. It was a disgrace that Conservative members of KCC asked the government to cancel the elections and that the government appeared to entertain this.
Government needs to give sufficient funding to local government so we can meet the public’s needs when it comes to caring for the elderly, looking after vulnerable children and repairing our transport systems.
Devolution of extra powers would be welcome to help get things done for local people. These should come to the elected local councils. Creating a mayor for Kent was unnecessary and would have been expensive.”
Kent and Medway miss out on fast track devolution deal, Kent online on 5 February 2025: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kent-and-medway-miss-out-on-fast-track-devolution-kcc-elec-319731/