Four Reform UK councillors suspended after leaked video of chaotic council meeting
Four reform UK councilors have been suspended after a video of admiral council leaders telling members to “suck it all up” was leaked to the press.
Reform UK took control of Kent County Council (KCC) after overthrowing a 30-year Conservative Party majority by winning 57 of 81 seats in local elections in May.
Footage of an online meeting in which KCC leader Linden Kemkaran berated councilors who questioned him was leaked to the press on Saturday.
A spokesman for Reform England said: “MPs Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill have suspended the whip pending an investigation following evidence they brought the party into disrepute.”
In the abusive video, Kent County Council Reform leader Linden Kemkaran was seen telling members “fuck you” if they did not accept the resolutions.
Major Kemkaran warned those who voiced dissent that they would “go under” and that Reform would not win the general election if they failed to balance the City’s budget.
The chaotic record obtained by GuardHe allegedly belittled councilors and threatened them to “stay silent”, prompting comparisons to the infamous “Jackie Weaver” district council Zoom meeting during the pandemic.
“Let’s not forget, we are the showcase of KCC. People are looking at us, judging us every minute of every day. Nigel knows this. He is very aware that we are the admiral’s council,” Major Kemkaran told his colleagues.
The city is one of 10 councils where Reform took control following a stunning local election last May in which Nigel Farage’s party vowed to cut wasteful spending and cut council tax bills.
But despite the introduction of the Elon Musk-inspired Department of Local Government Efficiency (Dolge) unit at the council, Kent’s Reform leaders are still set to increase council tax rates next year.
Major Kemkaran, who oversees the £2.5bn council budget, told the meeting: “We will live or die on this budget. If we don’t balance the books you can forget about Reform winning the next election. This is very important.”
He added: “If we can avoid increasing council tax by exactly 5% that will be the best thing we can do to show that Reform can actually run something as big as Kent council.”
There are rumors of a divide between many of Urban Reform’s backbench councilors and those who have been appointed since taking office.
On Monday Reform UK announced the suspension of four KCC councillors, including Paul Thomas, whom Ms Kemkaren threatened to silence during the meeting.
Mr Thomas had questioned whether Reform had the “right” leader and cabinet before being silenced by the council leader.
