Local Government Reorganisation in itself is a time consuming, expensive and futile waste of all our time.

Tim's intervention in the debate at the Kent County Council meeting of Thursday 6th November on "KCC's Strategic Business Case for Local Government Reorganisation in Kent and Medway".

I’m following experienced Councillors speaking, so its not a huge surprise we’re all labouring the point on the work of our Councillors at all levels. I’m not a double hatter, unlike my colleagues. I wear five hats.

118 Councillors for the entirely of Kent. As that includes the boundaries of the current Kent and Medway authorities, that essentially means one person per existing single member division. If it was today, you would be doing all the work, on the same boundaries of your division, of the services currently at both County and District level.

As Councillor Sole has said, in my division, one person would be doing the work of the current county councillor and 5 district councillors. So adding to the duties of the councillors in this chamber now, you put in the workload of the districts on bin collection, street sweeping, regeneration, parks and gardens and swimming pools, council housing, environmental enforcement, parking enforcement, private landlord services, local trading arms and charities and much more. These are matter that impact lives day in and out. They generate feedback and casework. Lots of it.

And before the answer is given that there will be local area committees and they’ll deal with those issues, they will be made of a subset of those 118 councillors. It’s the same councillors, sharing the same responsibility, so say 40 people, representing 4 or 5 existing districts. Consideration of Planning based on area authorities covering a third of this county? 

It’s not local. It’s not possible.

Simply asserting it’s the best model doesn’t make it true. Because it is not true.

And I’m pretty sure the administration knows it.

But they continue to push the idea, because, I’m told, they expect it to be rejected, and it’s a clever ruse to set up a fight with Government.

I can promise that no-one with any significant experience in local government thinks its clever in the slightest.

Where I agree with the leader is that Local Government Reorganisation in itself is a time consuming, expensive and futile waste of all our time.

But devolution of power from Westminster is a valuable prize. But the one authority model means that is not on the table. Completely rules it out.

And that is the only prize that makes this even possibly worthwhile. 

Going through Local Government Reorganisation without devolution is like going through the Hunger Games knowing there isn’t even going to be a square meal at the end.

Sadly no matter what is said here today, the administration is going to submit this proposal into Government.

But it’s a terrible idea. Anyone who seeks to properly represent their area and community, and has any experience of how long it takes to do so, would know that.

So please: can all members make that clear by voting against this proposal today. It’s not that you have to pick a different model, just accept there isn’t a worse one.

It doesn’t derail this administration submitting, sadly, but it does send a clear message to Government that this is not a model that stands in our name, or the name of the people of Kent.