The Conservative Party took control of the county council from the previous leader, but has no overall majority. The council has since approved a council tax rise of almost 9%, one of the largest in its history, in an attempt to balance its books and avoid effective bankruptcy. The move is higher than the standard 5% allowed. Despite this, Nigel Farage, the party has already scrapped £30m in capital spending and is withdrawing vacant job posts in areas like IT, finance and human aid.