Desperate Reform council seeks to cut care

Yet another triumph for Reform in local government, this time in Lancashire, which Nigel Farage’s mob took in May’s local elections.

Having failed to save the tens of millions of pounds a year the party promised could be found by scrapping net zero commitments, DEI schemes and all-round wokery, the party has now turned to something rather more tangible in a bid to manage its budget: saving £4m a year by closing five council-run care homes and five day centres and moving residents into the private sector.

Reform took control of the Red Rose council from the Conservatives in May, winning 53 of the 84 available seats. Their first act was to vote to let in its so-called “Doge” unit of Elon Musk-style cost-slashers, but they have still to arrive amid wrangles over data protection rules.

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Reform says it needs to find £103m of cuts in Lancashire and, having failed to do that by taking down a few Pride flags, the cabinet has agreed to find adult social services savings of about £50m over the next two financial years. Closing the care homes and day centres could save £4.16m, the council said.

To Reform’s surprise, shutting down care homes hasn’t proved a wildly popular suggestion locally. Dorothy Devereux, a 92-year-old former nurse, has lived in Woodlands in Accrington for 12 years and told the Guardian: “I’m staying here till I’m either forcibly removed or in a box.” And an actual Reform member, Phil Price, whose mother is in Grove House in Adlington, another of the homes set for closure, said: “My mum is 93. If she finds out about this, it’ll kill her.”

Others worry that it will only benefit those who own private care companies, like, er Graham Dalton, Reform’s cabinet member for adult social care… who owns a private care company in Lancaster. Care GB offers private care, including 24-hour complex and respite care.

Conflict of interest much? Apparently not. At a meeting of Lancashire’s health and adult social services scrutiny committee on Wednesday, Dalton said he had “no pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest” in the care home closures. So that’s ok then!