A new role

Last Thursday I took up post as the new Leader of Kent County Council. Paul Carter - who had led KCC for fourteen years, and in whose Cabinet I served for much of that time in various different roles - announced in early September that he was standing down.

On 4 October, KCC's Conservative Group elected me as Group Leader; the subsequent County Council meeting on the 17th received Paul Carter's resignation and then elected me as the new Leader of the Council.

County Councillors rightly paid tribute to Paul Carter's accomplishments: driving major projects such as Turner Contemporary; steering Kent through an era of austerity while protecting services more festively than in most local authorities; leading transformation of council services; successfully pressing Kent's concerns, and those of County Councils, with ministers of all parties, both as KCC Leader and as Chairman of the County Councils Network - and much more.

In my remarks after being elected Leader, I spoke about the County Council's need to be much more than simply a bundle of services, but to have a vision and give a voice to the County. My major priorities are: to ensure that, when housing growth takes place in the County, it is supported with adequate infrastructure; to give priority to the visible services that the County provides and which are seen in residents' day to day lives; to close gaps in skills, wages and opportunities across the County; and to take forward major initiatives in environmental issues (including those related to climate change) under a new, dedicated Cabinet portfolio holder.

You can find the webcast of the meeting at which Paul Carter resigned, and tributes were paid, here; and the subsequent meeting at which I was elected, including my remarks to the Council, here (agenda items 4 and 5).

Subsequent to the County Council meeting, I announced a new Cabinet team. In addition to my own role as Leader, and Peter Oakford as Deputy Leader (and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services), the Cabinet Members in alphabetical order are:

• Clair Bell – Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
• Susan Carey – Cabinet Member for Environment
• Sue Chandler – Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services
• Mike Hill – Cabinet Member for Community & Regulatory Services
• Richard Long – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
• Michael Payne – Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport
• Shellina Prendergast – Cabinet Member for Communications, Engagement and People
• Mike Whiting – Cabinet Member for Economic Development

The new Cabinet combines experience and new perspectives: three of the ten members are new, three were elected at the last County Council elections in 2017 and we are now close to gender parity with 40% of the Cabinet being women. It's vital that our Councillors and our leadership reflect the population whom we serve.

More appointments and announcements will follow soon.