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Reform UK's flagship Kent County council has been accused of "hurtling towards financial oblivion" after new financial documents released show that Nigel Farage's supposedly "cost-cutting" local authority has racked up a £46.5m budget overspend forecast for this financial year.

The overspend represents 3% of the overall budget and has increased by 66% in just three months - from £27.9m in the first quarter to £46.5m in the second. Reform was elected to lead the authority last May.

The council's own analysis describes the situation as "critical". In a report to Cabinet on November 19th, Reform deputy council leader Cllr Brian Collins and the council's corporate director of finance state: "The scale of the forecast overspend is unprecedented and represents a critical risk to the financial resilience of the authority."

"This situation demands immediate action. If not addressed in the current financial year, it will have a severe impact on our reserves and will impact our budget position for 2026/27."

Reform UK had issued a leaflet ahead of May's local elections which claimed the party would "reduce waste and cut your taxes" - complete with a smiling picture of Nigel Farage. The party went on to secure a hefty majority.

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It now appears almost certain that council tax will have to rise roughly in line with other councils also facing the strain.

Lib Dem opposition leader Cllr Antony Hook told Byline Times: "I think it will be close to 5%. The administration indicated as much in September."

"We still don't have a draft budget - usually we have one by November, but the administration won't present one until January, leaving very little time for scrutiny or improvements. But budget assumptions so far are based on a 5% council tax rise and an expected 1.5% increase in the council tax base."

That suggests that if the council tax rise is less than 5%, millions more pounds in cuts will have to be found.

"Even with those assumptions, the council still needs to find £46 million in cuts, and there's been no transparency about how," Cllr Hook added.

The figures show a £51m overspend on adult social care this year in the authority, often described as the largest in the country. Residential care services for older people are seeing a £22.4m overspend, and community-based services £16.3m.

It represents a 7.2% overspend in the department. Meanwhile, the council is set to miss its targets to find savings for adult social care spending by £20.9m this year.

The Reform-run council promised millions in social care savings "they knew they couldn't deliver," argues Cllr Hook.

The deficit in the council's schools budget also appears to be spiralling out of control. The deficit forecast for the schools budget this year is set to reach £133.4m, up from £97.5m last year.

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Council officers originally expected to break even on the schools deficit by 2027-28 - but are now expecting a £125m deficit instead. Much of the surge relates to increased spending providing specialist provision to pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEND). The number of pupils requiring specialist support in the county has increased to 18,367, up from 17,209 last year.

Many of those are being sent to independent school placements, at an average cost of £55,727 per pupil, a figure which has also risen substantially over t...