KCC has balanced its £1.6bn budget for next year, but only by selling assets and raiding reserves, with a £95m funding gap already looming. Plus storm damage across Kent and another major water crisis.

Some of Canterbury’s Victorian lampposts are being removed and replaced after years of unresolved communication between councils, leaving replacement as the default outcome rather than a decision. Our latest briefing explains what’s happening and why it matters.

The final Kent County Council meeting of the year is happening this morning.

Large illegal waste sites continue to operate across Kent despite regulators knowing about them. Around Sittingbourne, dumping has continued after repeated interventions, raising questions about whether enforcement can keep up.

More great journalism from London Centric Really encouraging to see increasing quality local media with rise of @millmedia.bsky.social @kentcurrent.news and many others

A Swale Borough Council meeting was suspended after coordinated far-right activists disrupted a debate on becoming a District of Sanctuary. Councillors reported abuse, intimidation and damage to the building. What happened, and why it matters:

Our big weekend interview is with Sittingbourne & Sheppey MP @kevinmckenna.co.uk. He spoke about becoming an MP, ICU nursing, living with HIV, and the challenge of uniting a constituency split between mainland and island.

Unauthorised lamppost flags in Kent are now incurring damage bills, with FOIs showing more than £4,000 has been spent by Kent County Council, which still has no checks in place to spot risks. Our Monday briefing is out now:

Best article that I have read so far on the inept shambles that have been happening where I live in Tunbridge Wells. I still think not enough is made of the fact they sent the emergency water to a completely different town.

This is a very good write up of the water situation in Tunbridge Wells.

Tunbridge Wells has endured nearly a week of water failures, broken deadlines and a boil notice that will stretch well beyond the return of supply, exposing long-flagged weaknesses in South East Water’s network and a collapse of trust across the town.

Hopefully you won't notice much difference, but today, we have left Substack and migrated our work to Ghost. Read more about why we've done it here:

Maidstone leader Stuart Jeffery faces a no-confidence vote this week. Conservatives say the council has been distracted by “symbolic” projects. Jeffery calls it “silly posturing” and expects to survive. Today’s Kent Current briefing is out now.

Had the pleasure of sitting down with Lupen Crook in his studio and talking about his art and music. www.kentcurrent.news/p/ive-got-en...

Docker is a Folkestone-based brewery and bakery. Steven talks to Head Brewer and Director Pete Nelson to talk about how he got into brewing, why they opened a new bakery in Ashford, and his advice for new brewers.

📣 Kent's far right moves into the mainstream 🚨 A fake town for civil unrest near Gravesend ➡️ More analysis of Reform at County Hall 🌹 Folkestone MP speaks out 🗞️ News in brief, our Kent event calendar, and lots more

The FAR Academy is an award-winning education provider for students with special educational needs. We spoke with headteacher Brent Lewis about the dispute they are now facing with Kent County Council over funding, which could detrimentally affect their students.

🚓 Kent to lose its Police Commissioner in 2028 ☀️ The mega-solar farms of the future 🧑‍💼 Senior staff at Manston suspended ➡️ More Reform expulsions, and lots more

🗳️ Wincheap (Canterbury) by-election result: 🟢 Peter Campbell (Green): 842 🔶 Guy Meurice (Lib Dem): 518 ➡️ Colin Spooner (Reform): 351 🌹 Jasmin Dallos-Foreman (Labour): 276 🌳 Elliott Curryer (Conservative): 166 Green GAIN from Liberal Democrat

Joe Bill is the Editorial Director at the award-winning ‘cene magazine, who has recently launched a new magazine looking at the world of padel. Padel is growing as a sport across Kent, so we sat down with him to discuss his route from the Medway News to ‘cene, publishing, and just what is padel?

🚒 Fire authority in limbo as Reform suspensions stall oversight 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Faversham flag wars latest 🎤 Thanet's last youth centre 💷 Latest financial interests of Kent MPs 🗳️ Canterbury by-election, and lots more

🎄 Flags spark as a festive stand-off, with one village claiming it can't put up Christmas lights until flags come down 🗣️ A chaotic Kent County Council meeting ➡️ What else is happening at KCC this week? 🗞️ News in brief, and more

KCC is underway and it's already a bit weird.

Another one gone in Kent. Cllr Isabella Kemp, elected for Reform in May, is now listed as an independent. It is unclear at this point precisely why Cllr Kemp has exited the party. This means Reform has now lost 9 of the 57 councillors they saw elected only six months ago.

In the course of three years, @stuartjeffery.bsky.social went from being the only Green on Maidstone Borough Council to leading it. We talk to him about his journey to becoming leader, the recent by-election around Lenham, and his support for new Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

🚄 A win for Virgin, but not for Kent. As a new operator is granted permission to run cross-Channel services, is there any prospect of them actually stopping in Kent? Plus: ➡️ Reform fractures deepen 🗳️ Two very different by-elections 🗞️ News in brief, and more

We lead our Monday briefing with the horrifying fact that 56 children have vanished after arriving in Kent as unaccompanied child refugees. Plus: ➡️ Assessing Reform's running of Kent ⬅️ A Dartford defection 🚛 New truck stop proposed, and lots more

St John's, Tunbridge Wells by-election result: Joe Dore (TW Independents) - 20 Kit Hawes-Webb (TW Alliance) - 105 Chris Hoare (Reform) - 177 Ukonu Obasi (Lib Dem) - 629 - ELECTED Kate Sargeant (Green) - 160 David Sumner (Conservative) - 90 Turnout: 28.4%

➡️ A week of reckoning for Reform at County Hall 💷 Kent firms caught underpaying staff 📖 Latest financial declarations for Kent MPs 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Three more Kent Reform councillors have been expelled from the party. Cllrs Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, and Paul Thomas have all been kicked out for showing "a lack of integrity" and "a pattern of dishonest and deceptive behaviour."

Our Monday briefing leads with - and we can only apologise - more Reform shenanigans as two councillors are expelled from the party. Plus: Two by-elections this week, a new solar conflict, a head-spinning song and dance routine, and lots more.

Two Kent Reform councillors have been formally expelled from the party. Cllr Robert Ford and Cllr Bill Barrett have been kicked out after being suspended over the last fortnight for "bringing the party into disrepute."

For our weekend interview, we sat down with Tonbridge and Malling leader Matt Boughton. We discuss his route to becoming a Conservative councillor and council leader, his thoughts on local government reorganisation, flags, his confidence that there won’t be any defections from his group, and more.

🔋 Green energy project blocked to protect imaginary countryside ➡️ Reform councillor suspended in misconduct row 🚄 New hope for international rail in Ashford 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Our Monday briefing is led by the weekend's Reform implosion in Kent, where a leaked video has led to four councillors being suspended from the party. We've also got the other big news from across Kent, and a look at the week ahead in the county.

Four Reform councillors in Kent have been suspended following a leaked video of internal disagreements over the weekend. Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, and Bill Barrett have all lost the whip this morning. Reform in Kent have now lost 7 of the 57 councillors elected in May.

Our Monday morning briefing edition is going to be a little late today because Amazon have broken the internet.

For our big weekend interview, we sat down with writer, comedian, and kink sex worker Melissa Todd.

🇵🇸 Pro-Palestinian protestors have campaigned outside of Kent's largest arms manufacturer 🏫 KCC to divert £2m from schools budget 🌳 A dispute in Sole Street 🌝 Tea on the moon 🎟️ Upcoming Kent events 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Another one falls in Kent. Reform has suspended county councillor Robert Ford after a complaint was made about him by 'several female members of staff.' The party said that Cllr Ford refused to engage with the complaints process, so he has had the whip removed pending a disciplinary process.

💷 Kent County Council crashes into financial reality and looks to increase council tax ➡️ Five Conservative councillors in the county defect to Reform 🧑‍💻 Old tweets from a KCC member resurface yet again

In our new weekly briefing this week: 🤬 Kent county councillor calls resident a 'f@?kwit' in testy exchange. 💷 KCC hits financial reality 🌳 Could Kent MP be the next Tory leader? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Conspiracies and far-right rhetoric in Faversham and Ramsgate 🗞️ News in brief 🎟️ The week ahead

Multiple Conservative councillors in Kent are defecting to Reform today. Cllr Robbie Lammas in Medway, a former staffer to Richard Holden, has jumped. Cllr Gary Harding, Cllr David Beattie, Cllr Emma Elliott, and Cllr Aaron Elliott in Gravesham defected en masse this morning in Gravesham.

We're out here bringing joy and positivity to our readers on a Monday afternoon.

➡️ Reform sweeps triple by-election in Maidstone to gain first seats on borough council 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Anti-immigration protests expand to more Kent towns 😷 Covid sneaks back 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Kent boasts two international rail stations, neither of which has any international services. As the campaign to return direct connections between Kent and the continent gains momentum, how likely are trains bound for Europe to stop in our county again?

🚫 Sport England objects to homes on fenced-off field 💷 New levelling up money for Kent ➡️ Councillors applaud far-right intimidation of press 💰 Latest donations to MPs 🗞️ News in brief, and more

For our weekend interview, we sat down with Antony Hook, leader of the opposition at Kent County Council. The former MEP talks about the Reform administration in Kent, flags on lampposts, Brexit's impact on Kent, and lots more.

🌍 Kent councillors decide there is no climate emergency ➡️ Medway school u-turns on Reform essay contest 🗣️ More from KCC this week 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Wrote a guest piece for the excellent @kentcurrent.news about why it’s so important that the county builds more!