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Kent Local News investigation

Kent LGR: the full series

Since April 2026 Kent Local News has followed one question about the reorganisation of Kent’s councils: under what specific legal power was the work done before the law allowed it? This page collects every part in order.

Parts
8
Articles
20
From
20 April 2026
Latest
9 September 2026

Two editions of every part

Each numbered part is published twice. Edition A is the full investigation, written with the documents in view and quoting them directly. Edition B is a reader edition: the same ground, the same findings, in plain English and without the paperwork. Neither is a summary of the other, and you can start with whichever suits you.

New to the story? Start with the stocktake: 127 days. Twelve articles. One question. Still no answer. — What was pursued, what happened instead, and what still has no answer.

The investigation, part by part

  1. Part 1 The freedom-of-information response that started it
  2. Part 2 Royal Assent, and why it did not settle the question
  3. Part 3 Fourteen months of spending without statutory authority
  4. Part 4 Statutory officers put on notice of personal liability
  5. Part 5 Asked at every level, answered at none
  6. Part 6 Who chose the four-council map, and on what basis
  7. Part 7 Residents file judicial review at the Administrative Court
  8. Part 8 Told it was mandatory, told it was not

    Edition B

    Not published. Two days after Part 8 ran, the Government paused the reorganisation programme and the story moved on.

What happened next

Background

Declaration. Kent Local News is edited by Daniel Dabin, who is also the leader of GB Freedom, a registered political party. This investigation relies on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, on published council and government records, and on statements made on the public record. Every claim is sourced in the article that makes it.

Series index last reviewed . Corrections policy: kentlocalnews.co.uk/corrections