The leader of Kent County Council says there will be no change in the authority’s relationship with the government after a Conservative party chief urged councils to stop co-operating with Labour.

Shadow Conservative local government spokesman Eric Pickles has told council leaders they should embark on a strategy of resisting Government initiatives ahead of the general election.

The call has prompted charges that the Conservatives are embarking on a campaign of civil disobedience, designed to provoke policy clashes over controversial and unpopular government measures, such as fortnightly rubbish collections. If the advice is followed, it could lead to an increasingly fraught relations between the two.

But KCC leader Cllr Paul Carter said he would not change his own approach to working with the government.

"I will go on doing the job in the way that I have for the last three years. I am a commonsense politician and try to steer a way through things when the government tries to impose things on us. But if we strongly disagree with something, then we will continue to say so. The relationship is always a delicate one, but we have to work with the government of the day." he said.

He said the county council had a track record of speaking out on issues it disagreed with, such as regional government, but had also proved it could co-operate in other areas.

The Conserative leader of Maidstone council also expressed reservations. Cllr Chris Garland said: "At the end of the day, the government still holds plenty of levers and the ability to influence what we do. Obviously, I appreciate the sentiments as would a lot of councils and there are lots of things the government is doing that I don’t think is helping Maidstone...but we are limited."