Horse-trading, peanuts and perplexing punk references

After a gloomy few years for Kent County Council on the budget front, might there be brighter times ahead? While this year’s budget has seen the council having to strip out an eye-watering £100m, things won’t be as dire in 2018 - when the number crunchers and councillors will have to work out how to deal with cuts estimated to be about £45m.

Peanuts.

There was a bit of behind the scenes horse-trading before the KCC budget over various motions and amendments submitted by the opposition parties.

The thrust of it was that the Conservatives said they’d support some in return for the parties supporting the overall budget.

The first bit of the deal was indeed honoured but when it comes to the second, it was - as they say - no dice.

While the debate on the council tax and budget was a little turgid - and that is being kind - there were brief moments of levity.

Ukip councillor Mike Baldock, who sports an eye-catching mullet-come-gothic haircut, took us for a walk down memory lane as he told his colleagues about various punk bands he’d seen in his younger days at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells.

We are not sure how this resonated with certain councillors of what you might say are of a certain age, who appeared rather perplexed at the punk references.

The formal UKIP opposition group at County Hall was in particularly lethargic mood last week, which might have been something to do with the central heating being on full blast in the council chamber.

Or it might have been related to the growing realisation that four years after the party’s spectacular success in the county election, their time might just be up in May.

They certainly seem to have had a reality check over the years. When we tweeted about their world-weariness, the Swale councillor Lee Burgess replied: “Four years has made us weary of this pantomime.” Oh dear. Still, there is anticipation in the party’s ranks that they may hang on to seats in what is their Kent stronghold, Thanet in May.

Labour has other ideas, of course, but in terms of leadership issues, it arguably has more on its plate than UKIP.

The Ukip leader of Thanet Cllr Chris Wells fancies his chances and is among those standing. It’d be a return to County Hall, where he was once cabinet member for education, one of the most senior roles - although at the time, he was a Conservative.

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