Councillors walk out of migration emergency debate

Kent County Council has declared an "illegal migration emergency" after opposition councillors walked out of a debate in protest.

The authority passed a motion, put forward by Reform UK councillors, stating that the county was a "frontier for the influx of illegal migrants" and residents were "dealing with the consequences".

Other parties chose to leave the chamber ahead of the vote, claiming the debate breached electoral rules ahead of a by-election for the Cliftonville ward, with Liberal Democrat group leader Antony Hook stating that the motion was "based on prejudicial, discriminatory assumptions".

The government said it had stopped 40,000 crossing attempts since coming into office.

The declaration calls for the government to stop the arrival of small boats "immediately" and provide "full funding to cover the costs" to the council of "dealing with the consequences of illegal migration".

According to Reform UK, the declaration would "focus attention on Kent's specific needs with this local crisis and would put pressure on central government to take meaningful action".

Council leader Linden Kemkaran said illegal immigration was impacting residents "not just in terms of cost, but in terms of safety, community cohesion, and pressure on housing and our public services".

Reform UK was "the only party willing to face reality and speak up for the people of Kent", she added.

Green Party group leader Mark Hood said his party walked out as they "could not legitimise divisive fantasy debates staged during a vital pre-by-election period".

Hook told the meeting that the declaration was a "stunt for political purposes during an election".

He said that the group would "not lend legitimacy by our presence" and would leave the chamber.

Labour group leader Alister Brady said that his party would report it to the Electoral Commission and the Local Government Ombudsman.

The Conservative Party complained to the Electoral Commission earlier this week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Kemkaran said that opposition parties "could not even be bothered to debate our motion".

A by-election for the Cliftonville ward in Margate will be held on 9 April after councillor Daniel Taylor was removed upon being jailed for behaving in a controlling or coercive way towards his wife.

All 45 councillors who remained for the vote supported the motion.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "This government inherited a broken immigration system, and since coming into office we have stopped more than 40,000 crossing attempts and removed or deported almost 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals.

"The Home Secretary recently laid down new measures to revoke accommodation and support payments for many asylum seekers, alongside a raft of tough new measures to make the UK a less attractive place for illegal migrants."

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