Reform Cllr Linden Kemkaran (front centre), leader of the Reform UK Kent County Council group, (Image: PA)

Kemkaran posted an image of The Autistic Trans Guide to Life, which appeared in a Pride Month display at Herne Bay Library. Some local residents pointed out online that the display was located in the welcome area of the library, not the children’s section.

The order to remove the books came from Reform councillor Paul Webb. In a video statement, Webb said: “I was contacted by a concerned member of the public who found trans ideological material and books in the children’s section of one of our libraries. I’ve today issued an instruction for all of it to be removed… Our children do not need to be told they were born in the wrong bodies. From today, this will stop.”

Linden Kemkaran, leader of Kent County Council, announced the decision on social media (Image: PA)

Antony Hook, Liberal Democrat opposition leader on the council, called the move “bizarre,” criticising Reform for announcing it on social media rather than at a council meeting. He has requested a list of titles earmarked for removal from Kent’s head of libraries.

Defending the action, Webb told the BBC: “In our society, children are quite rightly and properly protected from items and actions that could cause them harm — for example alcohol, cigarettes and gambling. My fellow Reform members and I believe that our young people should be protected from exposure to potentially harmful ideologies and beliefs such as those held by the trans lobbyists.”

He added: “As far as impact assessments are concerned, I would have thought that question should have been asked before these books were placed in the children’s section to begin with.”

Kent County Council oversees 99 community libraries and operates five mobile vans. It is not yet confirmed whether the policy will extend to neighbouring Medway Council, with which it shares certain services.

Reform DOGE-Style Ban of Trans Books from Children’s Library Is ‘Victory for Common Sense’

A row over transgender-related books in Kent libraries has placed Reform UK at the centre of another debate over children, public libraries, political intervention and freedom of access to information.

The controversy began after Reform UK took control of Kent County Council and senior councillors announced that transgender-related material would be removed from areas intended for children. Council leader Linden Kemkaran described the move as a “victory for common sense in Kent”, while Reform councillor Paul Webb said children should be protected from material he regarded as potentially harmful.

However, the story subsequently became more complicated.

Kent County Council clarified that it had not introduced a new library-stock policy or banned transgender books. Instead, it said staff had been reminded that adult books should not be placed in areas specifically intended for children or in displays where children were choosing books.

The distinction matters because the original political announcement suggested a much broader removal of books than what the council later confirmed.

The controversy centred on The Autistic Trans Guide to Life, a book by Yenn Purkis and Wenn Lawson aimed at autistic transgender and non-binary adults. The council said the book had been displayed near the entrance of a library and was subsequently moved to an adult section less likely to be visited by children.

How the controversy began

The issue erupted in early July 2025 after Paul Webb, Reform’s cabinet member for communities and regulatory services, said he had been contacted by a concerned member of the public.

In a video posted online, Webb said he had investigated the complaint and had instructed that transgender-related material be removed from children’s sections across Kent’s libraries.

He argued that children were already protected from other forms of material considered unsuitable for them and said he believed the same principle should apply to what he described as potentially harmful beliefs or ideologies.

Kemkaran publicly backed the decision, saying that telling children they were in the “wrong body” was unacceptable. She described the intervention as a victory for “common sense”.

Those statements quickly attracted national attention.

The Independent initially reported that a Reform-led Kent County Council had removed transgender-related books from children’s sections. However, subsequent clarification from the council showed that the situation was not as broad as the original announcements suggested.

No formal book ban, council says

Kent County Council later said there had been no change to its library policy.

In an official statement published on 8 July, the authority said children would not be exposed to adult transgender literature in its libraries and that staff had been reminded to ensure books were placed in age-appropriate categories.

The council specifically said the book that had triggered the controversy was an adult title displayed at the entrance of one library.

It was subsequently moved to a section considered less likely to be visited by children.

The council therefore presented the action as an issue of appropriate categorisation rather than a ban on transgender books.

“Adult books” were not supposed to be displayed in children’s areas, according to the council’s clarification.

That clarification changed the character of the controversy.

Rather than a county-wide prohibition on books about transgender issues, the confirmed action involved the relocation of a particular adult book and a reminder to library staff about age-appropriate displays.

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, known as CILIP, expressed concern about the conflicting accounts. It noted that the book at the centre of the controversy had not actually been in a children’s section and had instead been part of an adult display near a library entrance.

Why the word “DOGE-style” appeared

The comparison with DOGE-style government intervention reflects a wider political argument about cutting through bureaucracy and challenging institutions.

The term DOGE became associated in the United States with efforts to reduce government spending and reorganise public administration under Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In the Kent controversy, however, the comparison was being used rhetorically to describe Reform’s willingness to intervene directly in council operations and challenge existing arrangements.

There was no formal DOGE programme operating within Kent County Council.

Instead, the phrase captured the political style attributed to Reform: rapid intervention, public announcements and an emphasis on challenging what party representatives regard as institutional overreach.

The library controversy fitted into Reform UK’s wider emphasis on parental responsibility, children’s protection and opposition to what its representatives describe as ideological influence in public institutions.

But the practical details of the Kent case were considerably narrower than the original rhetoric suggested.

The book itself

The Autistic Trans Guide to Life is aimed at autistic transgender and non-binary adults.

The authors describe it as a practical guide for adults dealing with issues surrounding identity and everyday life.

There was no evidence presented by the council that the book had actually been part of a children’s collection.

Indeed, the subsequent council explanation specifically said the book had been located in a general display at the front of a library rather than in a children’s section.

That became one of the central criticisms of the original announcement.

Opponents argued that describing the incident as the removal of transgender books from children’s libraries created an impression that did not accurately reflect what had happened.

The council’s later statement effectively narrowed the scope of the original claim.

Reform’s argument

For Reform councillors, the issue was primarily about safeguarding and ensuring that material is appropriately categorised.

Paul Webb said child protection should be a central responsibility of politicians and argued that adult literature should not be placed in areas specifically intended for children.

Kemkaran similarly defended the move as an attempt to ensure that children were not exposed to material she regarded as inappropriate.

The party’s position therefore focused less on eliminating transgender books from public libraries altogether and more on where such books should be displayed and who should have access to them.

LBC later reported Kemkaran saying that no books had been banned or removed from libraries altogether. According to her account, the book had simply been moved from the welcome area to the adult section.

That distinction is central to understanding the dispute.

Critics raise freedom-of-information concerns

Critics of Reform’s approach argued that public libraries should make decisions about collections according to professional standards rather than political pressure.

CILIP said public libraries have obligations to serve their communities and highlighted concerns about political intervention and inaccurate descriptions of what had actually happened.

The organisation also raised the broader question of who should determine what members of the public can read.

Opposition politicians in Kent also criticised the way the announcement was made.

The Liberal Democrat opposition leader Antony Hook questioned why the council leader was announcing the decision through social media rather than through the normal council process.

That criticism introduced another dimension to the dispute: not simply what books should be available, but how decisions concerning public services should be made.

A wider culture-war debate

The Kent controversy also reflects a much wider political argument in Britain.

Questions surrounding transgender rights, children’s access to information and the role of schools and libraries have become increasingly prominent in political debate.

Supporters of tighter restrictions argue that children require greater protection from material dealing with subjects they consider unsuitable.

Opponents argue that removing or restricting books because they deal with transgender identities can limit access to information and make public institutions less inclusive.

The disagreement therefore extends beyond one book or one library.

It involves competing principles: safeguarding, parental choice, professional library management, freedom of information and political accountability.

What actually changed?

The most important point is that the original description of a sweeping “ban” needs qualification.

Kent County Council ultimately said it had not changed its library policy. It instructed staff to ensure that adult books were not placed in children’s sections or in public displays specifically intended for children.

The particular book involved was moved from a prominent display to an adult section.

The council said its libraries would continue to provide books and that the objective was to ensure that material was placed in age-appropriate categories.

That is significantly different from removing all transgender-related books from libraries.

The controversy nevertheless demonstrated how quickly a local council decision can become a national political story.

Reform’s language about “common sense” resonated with its broader political messaging, while critics saw the episode as an example of political intervention in a professional public service.

Reform’s growing role in local government

The dispute also came at an important moment for Reform UK.

After making major gains in the 2024 general election and subsequently expanding its presence in local government, Reform councillors increasingly found themselves responsible for running public services rather than simply criticising established parties from opposition.

That creates a different set of responsibilities.

A political movement can campaign on broad principles. A council administration must make decisions about libraries, education, social care, transport, planning and other services within established legal and administrative frameworks.

The Kent episode therefore provided an early example of the tensions that can arise when Reform’s national political messaging meets the practical responsibilities of local government.

For Reform supporters, the decision represented a statement that children’s spaces should contain age-appropriate material.

For critics, the controversy raised concerns about censorship and political influence over libraries.

The council’s subsequent clarification added an important factual qualification: there was no confirmed county-wide ban on transgender books, and the particular book at the centre of the dispute was not actually located in a children’s section.

Ultimately, the argument is likely to continue because it touches on questions far larger than one library display.

How should public libraries classify books? How should adult and children’s collections be separated? What role should elected councillors play in those decisions? And where should the line be drawn between safeguarding children and maintaining broad access to information?

Those questions remain politically contested.

What the Kent case demonstrates most clearly is the importance of distinguishing political rhetoric from the administrative facts. Reform councillors described their intervention as a victory for common sense and child protection. Critics described it as political interference. Kent County Council’s own subsequent account, however, was narrower: adult material should be kept out of children’s areas, and the book involved was relocated rather than banned.

That distinction is essential to understanding what actually happened.

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