Harry Rayner has been named the new group leader of the Conservatives at Kent County Council (KCC) - less than a fortnight after being trounced by Reform UK at the elections.

Cllr Rayner, who held the deputy cabinet role for finance in the previous Tory administration, accepts the “electorate has spoken”.

His party was reduced from more than 60 KCC councillors in 2021 to just five, now in joint third with the Green Party. The Liberal Democrats are now the official opposition party with 12 members.

Reform UK, which secured an outright victory with 57 seats - 16 more than required to form an administration - and have selected Linden Kemkaran as their leader.

Cllr Rayner (front right) is pictured here with the rest of his group - Sarah Hudson, Nigel Williams, Andrew Kennedy and Claudine Russell.

He said: “I am the group leader, but let’s face it is now a pretty small group, no more than a handful.

“Having just left the administration as the party running it, we know what Reform are going to have to do and the scale of the challenge in front of them.

“We will wait and see who is appointed to cabinet roles and how the committee system is set up.

“We’re under no illusions. The electorate has spoken and they have said that they want Reform UK and we have to respect that.

“I think it is also important that we don't just attack from the word 'go', as that has the appearance of sour grapes. We wait and see what is brought forward to ascertain and consider how sound their proposed policies are.”

The Tories lost nearly all of their big names in the election on May 1, not least KCC leader of six years, Roger Gough.

Earlier this year, he was left angered when Kent was not chosen as a “fast track” county to the government’s first phase of devolution and council reorganisation.

It also meant the local government minister Jim McMahon decreed KCC should hold its election, unlike others which were shelved.