The Green Leader of Maidstone Borough Council, Cllr Stuart Jeffery, has blasted the devolution proposals as centralisation of power and damaging to democracy but he has vowed to work with other councils and parties across Kent to make sure the changes work best for Kent residents.
Cllr Stuart Jeffery (Green Leader of Maidstone Borough Council): “It’s centralisation of power, not devolution. It’s less democratic and it’s a retrograde move for the county, so we will need to ensure that we take the rough edges off any changes and ensure that we get the best possible outcome for residents.
“While I welcome the potential additional funding and control for Kent, this seems to come with serious strings attached. It puts a huge amount of power in the hands of a single person rather than a team that represents the people of Kent.
“The scrapping of districts and county councils with the formation of unitaries, means fewer councillors who will be harder to reach and harder to engage by residents. I fear that national government is getting rid of the best aspects of local government.”